Saint Tenma: Holy War ARC
by Fantasy-Magician
Summary: Pegasus chose to reincarnate in sanctuary 13yrs ago, to fix broken unity from within. Gold saints at first was not too happy to do babysitting, and Shun didn't expect someone helping him in training as fate seems never tired to link Hades,Athena&Pegasus.
1. Prologue: Next Circle

**Hello! As promised a new story to replace 'Origin of Pegasus saint' is up! I hope you like this story... ^^ to be honest this story already in progress since I wrote second chap of Origin. And it progressed slowly... this story also is continuation of 'Unending Circle of Fate' but I think even though you haven't read that story you can follow this one, but I am sure it's better if you read Circle of Fate first.**

**And don't worry as Drabble fic is already halfway done ^^/ I will update 2 chapters soon for that one! One shonen-ai and one humor one!  
**

**A/N: I don't know if this is canon or not but from what I read in website and manga all Gold saint... most of them except those with Greek nationality trained in their country mostly, except Camus who train in Siberia even though he is French, and Milo who train in Milo island. Saga, Kanon, Aiolos and Aiolia trained in sanctuary I presume. I am not sure of this info so don't sue me if it's wrong DX he he he  
But for the sake of plot the set is even though they already gained their armor Gold saint still continue their training on their own respective training ground, according to some website Shaka went to DQ island to punish black saint group, he departed from India... not sanctuary so~ I assume they are allowed to stay in long period in training ground, Camus also the same case with his training in Siberia with Hyoga and Isac. For those who also read episode G, I am trying to follow what hinted from this series about gold saint's life but then again I am not sure this manga followed Kurumada sensei's or not... especially since in that manga obviously hinted that Aiolia never know or meet Mu before he went to repair Leo cloth, which in my opinion is odd. Mu is Shion's disciple, and as the Pope is it possible he never introduce his own disciple whose duty to repair cloth to other gold candidate? Almost as stupid as gold saint didn't aware of each other in anime~**

**Anyway.. Golden Hall in episode G is a luxurious hall where Gold saints having their meeting with Pope and Athena.**

**BTW This is NOT YAOI or SHONEN_AI! This is a safe fic! So even though there is intense friendship... it's PURE! So don't get any weird idea! But then again... is there any point I say this if you imagine it that way? ^^; **

**BTW this will centered on Shun and Tenma ^^/ they are my favorite bronze, no Shun for a while but I promise he will appear soon... he is another main character here after all. And actually I prefer Shun than SHiryu to be his best friend :3  
**

**enjoy the show!

* * *

Prologue**, **"Routine of Fate?"**

**The eighteenth century (previous holy war**)

Sasha's teardrop fell one by one to mother earth's embrace, soaking the ground. She just lost her brother because of holy war, not even his remain left for her mourning or proper burial. Athena even didn't know if this bloody war deserved to be called as something holy, why it called holy? So many cause that might caused it called that way, Athena and her saints was fighting against God for the sake of human race, or because it was war between gods over mother earth? She didn't know and never want to know, each shaky step she took felt heavier and heavier as she tried to support Tenma's body. The Pegasus saint can barely stand, his eyes were unfocused and as much as he didn't want to lean on his goddess he needed it. Tenma can feel how his will waver like candlelight; pain was one thing he used to feel but his mortal body almost beyond repair to simply move.

He opened his mouth slightly, trying to send a mere whisper to Athena. "Sa…sha… rest…" He whispered in shaky voice, "You… used all cosmos to teleport us out from the castle… rest."

Sasha shook her head, "No!" She objected, "I have to get you to safety! We have to tend your wound!" Much to Athena's surprise the Pegasus saint lifted his arm away from her shoulder then leaned on to the nearest ruin. "Tenma!"

Tenma panted heavily as blood oozed again from his wound, "Sasha… you know my body already at its limit, and as for why I still alive it's because my soul is…" He tried to find the correct word, "Peculiar…" He finished with a voice that laced with irony. "What I am now… is no different from living corpse. This body is crumbling… it's already dead!"

Tears pooled again on her lavender orbs, she of all people knew what Tenma meant with that statement. "I… you still have time! We can save you!"

"Athena!" Tenma called her harshly yet with respect, "Time for what? Why you want to fix this mortal body?" He asked. "I am Pegasus saint… my duty and life is to fight by your side in holy war." He stated sternly, locking his gaze to her eyes.

Sasha bit her lower lip, Tenma rarely called her by the name of goddess despite of Yato's daily sermon of how disrespectful he was to her. Tenma was serious; he didn't want her to be delusional and blinded herself from truth. " I… I just want you… for once to be happy… to be able to enjoy period of peace…" She admitted as embraced him gently, "Since the age of myth… you always stay by my side, fighting for peace but… you never…" She trailed off with regret, her hands cupping his cheeks. "Never live through that peace… all your life… since long time ago… it's not fair…"

The Pegasus saint chuckled, "Life and unfairness… why you sounded so human my goddess? Pallas… Athena…"

Athena smiled sadly at him, "You haven't call me that for so long… Pegasus…

"Athena! Tenma!"

Both of them turned to familiar voice that called, from afar they could see Dohko and Shion walked shakily to their direction. Shion's arm was on Dohko shoulder, both of them full of bruise, from its looks Shion's left leg was fractured and he barely could stand. Dohko despite looked slightly better broke several ribs. Once their goddess and Pegasus saint entered their field of vision, their pain was forgotten as they rushed to their comrade's side as fast as their bodies allowed them.

"I know you guys are still alive!" Tenma said cheerfully, Athena looked at him with shock painted on her face. He looked so much better in the surface when Dohko and Shion approached them, he also hid chaotic cosmos of his that signaled his death carefully, and his cosmos that burned violently like candlelight that almost died. Why?

"Milady… " Shion bowed slightly as his leg didn't allow him to kneel, "Are you alright?"

Sasha jerked away from her though at Shion's question and hastily replied, "Yes… I am fine…"

Shion being an observant persona caught how tense Athena was, and he was sure both of her and Tenma were far from fine. "I am glad to hear that milady…" He said with serene voice, "As battered as I looks like I still have enough power left to teleport all of us back to sanctuary."

"Shion… are you really alright?" Dohko asked unsurely.

The Tibetan nodded, "My leg is fractured but that wouldn't bother my physic ability… I am healthy enough to do menial task such as teleporting us back to the entrance of sanctuary."

"Shion… please don't force yourself." Athena advised softly. "But thank you… we have to get back soon, Tenma and all of you are badly injured so we have to get all of you to physician as soon as possible."

The Aries saint shook his head, "Off course milady." And without further word all of them vanished.

* * *

**Twelve Temple's entrance**

Dohko can's be more relieved once they were out of enemy's territory, even though they had won the war he still felt uneasy to be anywhere near Hades' territory in such battered condition. "We make it!" He cheered but soon groaned when he saw stairs that led to White Ram Temple, "Oh… why did we have to go up to get home?" He whined in low voice, but loud enough for Tenma to hear him.

The Pegasus saint grinned, "Want me to fly you up to Libra, Dohko-nii?"

The Libra saint can't help but grinned, then strangled Tenma playfully by his neck, "Aren't you a cocky brat once you grow a pair of wings huh?" He cooed playfully, "You sure you will not drop me?"

"I am sure I will drop you… right on Libra's roof." Tenma quipped.

The Libra saint tightened his hold as if almost choking his little brother, "Hoo… it's been a while since last time I saw you dear brother, and I can see you have developed some rebellious streak."

Shion sighed at childish argument between his comrades as he helped Athena to sat on one of rock nearby for some rest, "Quit it you two… " He said in desperate tone, "We are injured quite badly so sit down and rest! I already asked some of soldier to fetch our healer and servants to assist us later so save your energy please!"

"Yes mom…" Dohko released Tenma from his hold reluctantly but flinched when his arm brushed against Tenma's skin that wasn't covered by his armor collar, "Tenma? Your neck is so cold!" He exclaimed in panic.

Sasha bit his bottom lip when she heard what Dohko said; her eyes ran away from the sight of her beloved saints. On her mind Tenma's word echoed like a mad bell.

"**This body is already dead.**

**Dead…**

**Dead…"**

Tenma in the other hand looked calm, "What did you expect? It must be only my sweats cooling down my skin… I am so tired and weather in Greek around this season is freaking hot!" He whined as fanned himself with his hand.

Dohko raised an eyebrow, he was not convinced but he would let it slip for once. "Okay… and it seems they are here…" He said as jerked up him thumb at a hoard of servants and soldier who undoubtedly worried about their goddess and saints they had left.

Tenma suddenly walked away from Dohko ignoring his warning to be careful of his wound, eager to be by his goddess' side as fast as he could. Shion looked warily at Tenma who approached them and as if Tenma's eyes managed to send him a silent plea to leave them alone Shion walked away to join Dohko to give them privacy. Athena knew Tenma now was only a step away from her but she didn't dare to look up to his face, "Sasha… please…"

She knew what he wanted from her, she had heard the same request many times in their previous life. "Do I have to…?" She asked indignantly.

"Do you want to see me dying?" He asked back.

Sasha bit her bottom lip as tears once again threatened to pool on her eyes, "You are always like this… so considerate of me." She muttered in shaky voice, "And at the same time so cruel… to ask me to leave you dying each time."

"Athena…" He began, "I never want you to see me in such state, beside… remember that…" He trailed off as looked at Dohko and Shion who was being given emergency first aid by healers, they had had told the servants to give him privacy for a while. "Those two… you have to pass them duty they would shoulder from now on as the last survivors, just like we did Hakurei and Sage two centuries ago."

She nodded hesitantly, "I know… " And then the goddess of wisdom stood up shakily, then looked back at the Pegasus saint for the last time in this life, "See you again in the next life, Tenma… my Pegasus saint…" She muttered softly as walked away to where Shion and Dohko stood.

Tenma followed her example as he walked away to opposite direction without looking back, "Farewell… my goddess, see you again in the next war."

* * *

Dohko stood up hastily ignoring the physician's warning when he saw Tenma walked away from them, when he looked at his disciple's retreating back he dreaded the worst. He snapped out of his mind when Athena was few feet away from him and Shion, she seemed had something to say to them. "Lady Athena? Where is he going to?" He asked as looking at direction Tenma went off to.

"There is no need to worry…" She assured, "Tenma have something to take care of, and I have to talk with you and Shion…" Athena said as looked at the Aries saint.

Shion waved peoples who crowded around him as a sign for them to leave, "May I know what is it, milady?"

Athena took a deep breath, her eyes closed and when she opened it all peoples around her could feel her determination and charisma as a goddess, her voice echoed with power. "Aries Shion… Libra Dohko… let's speak in Golden Hall…"

* * *

**GOLDEN HALL**

Dohko and Shion can't help but became nervous once they were alone with Athena in Golden Hall where they usually held important meeting between Gold Saints, Pope, and Athena herself, the hall was a very secluded space where no one from lower rank can enter, and anyone who dare to enter would be punished. The hall was rarely used especially since holy war began, they would speak in throne room so when any important report came lower ranked saints could inform them as soon as possible. The Aries saint and Libra also can't help but depressed when they saw empty chairs that used to be occupied by their comrades, it kept reminding them that they were the only one left.

'_Hasgard, Defteros, Asmita… Kardia… Degel...' _Dohko though as looked at the empty seats painfully, his friends! They would never see them again. In the other hand Shion also though the same as his purple eyes locked on remaining seats, _'Albafica, Regulus, El Cid, Sishypus, Manigoldo… everyone.' _They didn't cry when their comrades fell one by one just like petals of Twin Sala, because war had not ended yet. But now when war had ended and on their face laid reminder of what they had lost, it felt so hard to hold back their tears. But they will not show it, as Athena herself was also sad more than they were and she had to endure this again and again since the age of myth. They at least had to maintain strong facade in front of her.

"Shion… Dohko, I will leave everything to you from now on." She stated firmly as her eyes locked on them.

Their eyes widened, "What do you mean Athena?" Dohko asked.

Sasha took a deep breath, "As you know… when hold war ended and Hades sealed, I shall return to Olympus therefore…" She trailed off, "Both of you shall be the one who maintain order in sanctuary during my absence till the next two centuries just like what Pope Sage and Hakurei did."

Dohko and Shion were shocked, even though they were gold saint they were so young. They were not sure they could shoulder such responsibility; Sage and Hakurei were so much older when they took mantle as Pope and duty as the last survivors to maintain order. "But Lady Athena…" SHion reasoned, "We are not sure… we…"

Athena shook her head, "Don't worry Shion, I see potential in both of you… therefore I will bestow position as Pope upon you Aries Shion." The Aries saint can't help but gasped, Dohko in the other hand though his heart would jump out of his mouth when Athena locked her eyes firmly at him, "And Libra Dohko… you will assist Aries Shion as his right hand untill sanctuary recovered from this war and new saints are chosen."

"Untill sanctuary recovered milady?" Dohko can't help but repeated Athena's sentences.

Sasha nodded, "Yes… after order in sanctuary restored, I will have you to guard Hades' seal, Libra Dohko." At widened eyes of her saints Sasha can't help but felt guilty to separated them from each other,"I am sorry Dohko… but I would like you to have Hakurei's mission, we can't let our guard down till my seal wearing out… someone might trying to undo the seal before then."

Shion and Dohko contemplating what Athena had said, no matter how much doubt they had on themselves, they were the only one who can do it. "I am understand milady…" Shion said with respect, then he looked at Dohko who nodded at him. "We will do our best for you, earth, our fallen comrades and… future."

The goddess of wisdom smiled as she let single tear rolled down from her eye, "Thank you… Shion, Dohko…"

Before they left the room Athena asked Shion to leave them as she had further instruction she wished to give to Dohko. The new Pope nodded then left the room quietly, and then the goddess of wisdom began to explain what Dohko should do for the next two centuries and Misopetha-Menos gift she would bestow upon him.

* * *

Dohko can't believe Athena would leave them so soon as if she was rushing and run out of time, but the goddess herself was indeed running out of time. Unlike other deities who chose to incarnate themselves via borrowed body, Athena usually reincarnated herself with descending to sanctuary as a baby. She didn't want to rob any human off of their life like Eris, Poseidon or Hades did, but in exchange she had to return to Olympus as soon as her task was done, she had no privilege to dwell on earth as long as she wanted like other deities. So she was standing right in front of her statue accompanied by Shion and Dohko, ready to return to her home in Olympus. That night was serene, stars and full moon were out in it's brilliance as if celebrating her victory against Hades.

Athena raised an eyebrow when she spotted Dohko looked around him as if looking for something so does Shion but only his eyes rolling left and right once in a while. "What's wrong?" She asked even though she knew who Dohko and Shion were looking for.

They were silent for a while then asked, "Where is Tenma?" Dohko asked nervously, "Of all people I am sure he should be here to send you off milady."

Athena flinched, but she quickly schooled her face as calmly replied, "Dohko… Shion… we… have said our goodbye to each other so there is no need to wait for him."

"What?" Dohko almost raised his voice but quickly apologized for his rudeness, "But milady…!"

Dohko looked at Shion when he felt the Aries saint's hand on his shoulder, he shook his head, "Dohko… it's Lady Athena's decision… It's Tenma's decision… we are not allowed to interfere." He stated firmly.

The Chinese saint was confused but he knew better than questioning his goddess' decision, so without further argument both of them paid their last respect with kneeling before their goddess as blinding pillar of light enveloped her, **"Farewell… my saints, may we meet again in the next two centuries…" **And with that her form disappeared in pillar light after shone brightly to the point the two saints had to shield their eyes before they went blind.

"…"

"…"

"She is gone…" Dohko stated the obvious.

Shion nodded, "She is…" they flinched when they felt familiar cosmos suddenly appeared out of nowhere so near.

"So… she has return."

Shion and Dohko spun 180 degrees quickly when they heard that familiar voice, startled when they found Tenma walked toward them gracefully like a veteran warrior. Shion didn't get a good look at Tenma's god cloth before but when he did, Shion could feel enormous power emitted by it. He noted that unlike previous form of it, Pegasus god cloth almost wrapped the whole body of Tenma just like gold cloth and it also shone with ethereal beauty that can't be compared with any cloth that less than Athena's. "So this is the legendary cloth of Pegasus saint…" He can't help but commented to himself but quickly turned his attention to the owner, "Where were you Tenma?" He asked.

"I am just around here…" He replied softly.

Shion's eyes widened, "But I didn't feel your cosmos around at all!"

"Never mind that Shion!" Dohko snapped as walked closer to his blood brother, "Tenma… why you didn't come to sent her off?"

Tenma smiled sadly at Dohko, "I already said my farewell Dohko…"

Dohko can't believe what he just heard, of all people he though Tenma would be the one who saddened the most with Athena's departure but he took it so lightly! "Tenma you…"

Before he could finish Tenma cut him in, "It's okay… it's our decision to not see each other in the last moment." He muttered sadly.

Shion put his hand on Dohko's shoulder when he was about to talk Tenma back, shaking his head as gesture of warning. "What did I say Dohko? It's their decision."

Dohko sighed, he can't argue with the new pope, can he? "Yes my lord… " he quipped, ignoring his best friend's glare Dohko smiled at Tenma. "So… you know our dear friend here is now our honorable pope?"

Tenma nodded as smiled gently, "I do… Sasha told me, congratulation… Pope Shion. May her guidance be with you… in your duty as Pope."

Dohko and Shion can't help but though there was something odd with Tenma, the cheerful boy they know would jump in excitement as yelling 'That's awesome Shion!' or something along that line, not a polite and so unlike Tenma's reply. "Tenma…?"

"Shion, Dohko… thank you." Tenma muttered as his signature smile formed on his face. "For everything…"

"?"

* * *

Dohko can't help but confused, "What do you mean…? By the way you have to help us to maintain new order in sanctuary Tenma." He said cheerfully, "Don't you dare slacking off… now you are god saint, I can say that you more or less is in the same rank as us so prepare to work your hand till it numb on paperwork like we did!"

Shion groaned when he heard 'paperwork' because he knew after this he would be buried by those, "Don't remind me…"

Much to their confusion Tenma once again didn't behave like they expected him would. The Pegasus saint was smiling at them with sadness painted on his brown orbs, "That sounds boring…" He muttered weakly.

"Tenma…" Dohko began, "What's wrong… you are so weird."

Shion in the other hand observed the Pegasus saint calmly as his friend asked Tenma what's wrong with him, and then Shion's eyes widened in realization. Faster than speed of light Shion grabbed Dohko's hand when he was about to reach out for his blood brother, "Dohko don't!"

Dohko frowned in annoyance, "What's wrong with you two…? Especially you Tenma… you were acting like you will go somewhere far away!" He snapped.

Tenma chuckled softly, "I am indeed will go somewhere…"

"Don't speak nonsense!" Dohko growled angrily.

Tenma shook his head, "I didn't."

"You did!" Tenma didn't reply instead his sad smile torn Dohko's heart in two, "Tenma… I am understood you have gone through so much, but so are we… and you still have us! You have not lost everything!"

"I know…" Tenma admitted sadly.

"Then… why you?"

Shion can't take it anymore and snapped at Dohko, "DOHKO OPEN YOUR EYES!"

The Chinese saint was shocked at Shion's sudden outburst, "What do you mean?" He asked confusedly.

The Tibetan gritted his teeth, "Dohko… stop lying to yourself! There is no use to deny this… just accept it!" He yelled as closed his eyes, tears began to leak as he can't hold it anymore. He lost his master, fellow apprentices, comrades… and now this? This was too much even for him, "Dohko… can't you see?"

"See what?" Dohko snapped back, "I see nothing that…"

"Dohko…" Tenma called, the Libra saint turned his attention back at Tenma. "I am sorry… and once again thank you… for being a good mentor and brother for me."

Truth dawned on Dohko painfully, he couldn't move as his mind searching for reason to deny what he realized just now. "Tenma… you… no!"

Tenma closed his eyes, "I also need to thank Shion…" He said as turned to the new Pope, "Thank you for sparing your time once in a while to lecture me about cosmos theory and history of sanctuary." He said as grinned widely." Sorry for sleeping through half of it. You will be a great Pope! I know you and Dohko can do it!"

"Tenma! How can you…" Dohko asked sadly, stammering on his words. "I can't accept this… you… of… all people. You just… can't be!" He denied, "You died once and return back from hell unscatched! You…"

Shion nodded in agreement, he didn't want to lose more than he already had. "Tenma… you… how could this happen?"

Tenma laughed softly, "Shion… let me tell you this…" he began, "Pegasus saint… the god slayer… great sinner of heave, Athena's guardian…" He recited mockingly, **"Never survived holy war since the age of myth even once."**

"!"

"!"

Dohko fell on his knees, "That can't be… how do you know?"

"Seal of my ancient memories always weakened when I was on the brink of death… thanks god for this seal, I would be mad in no time with such heavy memory on my brain permanently." He informed helpfully, "I never survive holy war… because just like Athena, once my duty is over… I am no longer needed in this world till the next two centuries."

Dohko stood up shakily, "That's absurd! You deserve better Tenma!" He said as reached out to hold him only to pass through the Pegasus saint's body, and once again Dohko fell on his knees behind Tenma. Dohko stared at his empty palms as his body shook slightly, unable to believe he had just passed through Tenma's body.

"Only my soul remain in this world Dohko…" he pointed out.

Shion's eyes widened in realization, "What did you have done to your body Tenma?" He asked in panic.

Tenma gave him a sad smile, "A dead body should be none of your concern Pope Shion." He replied.

"Your body is not dead yet!" Dohko denied, "You looked so healthy few hours ago! It's not the first time your soul left your body!"

Tenma shook his head, "My body was cold… isn't it?"

The Libra saint was taken back at sudden question, "But you said…"

"It's just a lie… that body is already dead by then, it's just my soul that managed to hold on a little longer on that broken body…" He explained in lofty tone, "As I never want Athena to see me dead, I never let her see me dying if I can help it."

Shion walked closer to Tenma, his hand reached out to touch Tenma's shoulder but it was impossible to touch soul. "Tenma… is died after your confrontation with Hades a destiny?" He asked.

"Perhaps… maybe that's the only reason fate never allow me to die before he was sealed." He replied unsurely, his form had began to crumble to light fragment and he knew that his time was almost up. "Oops… seems my time is almost up."

Dohko encircled his arms around Tenma as if he could touch Tenma's soul, "Tenma… my little brother…" His tears streamed down his cheeks, Shion watched his comrades as tears pooled on his eyes.

He gritted his teeth, "Will we see you again Tenma?" Shion asked sadly.

The Pegasus saint nodded, "You will Shion… niisan" He said as looked at Shion then Dohko.

The Libra saint sniffed as he broke the embrace, then looked straight at his brother's face. "You better be back to earth in the next two centuries, Tenma! And I will give you a very painful beating so you can remember me again!" He exclaimed with a wide smile.

Tenma nodded in agreement, "I will… that's a promise." Then he took a few steps back away from them, "Once again thank you Dohko… Shion… and as the last gift I would like show you…" He said as angelic smile painted on his lips, then slowly his metallic feathers fell like angel's feathers as he floated, blinding white light enveloped his body, and his armors departed from his body and back to it's bronze state. His form turned to a body of a mighty steed of God and descended back to the ground.

* * *

Dohko's and Shion's eyes widened at the sight of Pegasus spreading his regal wings wide before them with its ethereal beauty, and his golden eyes locked firmly on them. "Tenma…" They can't help but gasped, "You really are…"

Pegasus's voice echoed through their cosmos, it sounded like Tenma's but sounded much deeper. **"Farewell my friend…"** He said as his body elevated higher and higher.

Shion and Dohko nodded, "We will work hard to prepare our future Tenma! We promise will not let you and Athena down!"

Pegasus flapped his wings stronger as raised his hoofs, and then he flew in circle right above them. **"I… Pegasus vow that we shall meet again and when the time comes… once again we will fight together to protect Athena, earth and human kind… this is my vow for you my dear friends… farewell…"**

And with that he was gone and replaced by shooting star that flew away from sanctuary to who knows where. Shion and Dohko looked at where Pegasus was, their eyes widened when few tiny spheres of light fell and landed on their palms revealing two pure white feathers glowed in the dark. They smiled at the last gift they had as memento, "That boy really…"

"Look Dohko!" Shion exclaimed as pointed to the east where sun had began to rise.

"…"

"…"

"How beautiful…" Shion commented as another tear fell from his eyes, "We and our fallen comrades fought till the last drop of our blood for this… to see tomorrow sunrise… to see our future…"

Dohko nodded in agreement as he looked down at spiritual feather he held, "Yes… and we will make sure… they would be proud of future we build together!" Dohko exclaimed as raised his fist, and wind blew their mantle away as scenery of sunrise mesmerized them as it was sign of the new future.

* * *

**Sanctuary (20th century)**

The night was serene just like two centuries ago, silence reign the dark night and moon shone brightly as if celebrating Artemis' good mood. Far away from anyone's ears in sanctuary a man was kneeling in one of the peak of cliff in Star hill. The mad had long blue hair that came all the way to his waist; tears of regret kept streaming down his blue eyes. Prayer to gods, begging for guidance and mercy recited endlessly, it was just few nights after he had committed a grave sin that he would never be able to atone, not even in exchange of his life. He had killed Pope Shion, marked Aiolos as traitor and ordered his execution, and foremost was he attempted to kill Athena! The goddess he swore to protect, she was just a baby and he raised a weapon against her!

"What have I done…" He muttered sadly.

His regret and despair became deeper when Mu, the disciple of Shion came barging in to throne room. Mu had come from his training ground in Jamir, demanding to see his master but his guard can't grant it even to Gold saint because Pope ordered him not to. Mu was a calm and reserved child but he dared to go as far as barging in when the false pope was in the middle of his meeting with his advisors, ignoring Shaka's plea.

**Flashback**

_Saga froze on his track when he saw Mu barged in the throne room with Shaka in tow. He snapped back from his mind when Shaka tried to convince the young Aries to leave, "Mu! This is not what I have in mind when you called me from India to accompany you back to sanctuary!" Then the Indian turned his attention to the false pope then bowed apologetically, "My apologize for our rudeness Pope Shion… we will be back later." He said politely as trying to drag his friend back but failed as Mu's feet as if nailed to the floor. "Mu! Come on…"_

_Saga gulped under intense gaze of Mu, the young Tibetan as if was boring hole through his mask. "Why you return to sanctuary, Shaka… Mu. You know that… you should inform us beforehand of your return."_

_Shaka stammered an excuse, "I… we… it's just Mu suddenly have something important he need to talk about with you Pope, and we were in hurry… so we didn't think clearly." The Indian reasoned in panic._

_Mu gritted his teeth, "Shaka is not the one at fault, and I am the one who asked him to accompany me since his training ground is the closest." He muttered softly as trying to restrain himself of anger that consuming him; Mu had come from Jamir when he felt Shion's cosmos vanished. He had expect something happened and right to his guess the news of Aiolos' betrayal at least was saying that much. In his panic he only can call Shaka who was training in India, which was the closest from Jamir, he needed all support from his friends in case something did happen. He wanted to call Aldebaran too but he was in Brazil and that was far away._

_"Is that so…" Saga replied as calm as he could._

_Mu nodded, "I am willing to receive punishment for my rudeness Pope, but please let Shaka go. I am the one who ignore his advice to be patient and waiting for your meeting to finish."_

_Shaka was confused, since when Mu called his master with only Pope? They were in front of outsiders but there was nothing wrong if Mu called him Master Shion like usual, he wondered why Mu behaved so strange since he suddenly contacted him in India to ask his company. "Mu?" he turned his attention back to the false pope, "Please master… don't punish Mu, I am sure whatever Mu need to talk about with you is important enough for him to go this far…"_

_"I don't need to talk about it anymore." Mu muttered calmly, "I am sorry Pope but please decide whether or not you need to punish my insolence, because I am sure I better go back to Jamir as soon as possible." He drawled._

_"There is no need for me to punish you, and you can go as you wish…" Saga commanded as waved his hand._

_Mu nodded and turned on his heels to the exit, "Excuse me then…" He muttered without looking back. "Shaka, let's go back to Asia continent…"_

_Shaka looked back and forth between the false pope and retreating Mu, he bowed slightly as muttered an excuse then sprinted to follow his friend, "Mu, wait!"_

_Shaka slowed down as he kept the same pace as Mu, "Something is wrong Mu? It's not like you to behave so strange…"_

_Mu looked down sadly, "I am so sorry Shaka… but nothing is wrong." He can't involve Shaka in danger like this._

_"Mu… are you alright? You look so pale." Shaka asked worriedly._

_Mu shook his head, "It's nothing." He denied._

_The Indian saint sighed, "You are never good in lying Mu, but I will let this slip… are you sure you will be alright alone in Jamir like this? Stay with me for a few days in India… at least till you are well." Shaka offered._

_Mu chuckled, "I am fine Shaka… there is no need for you to be worried about me."_

_Shaka became silent at Mu's reply then asked, "Well… then can I ask you this? I… sense something wrong in the throne room but I am not really sure… it's feels like…"_

_Mu panicked at Shaka's question, "It's just you being too paranoid Shaka… I assure you there's nothing wrong."_

_"Are you sure?" Shaka asked, Mu after all was a better sensor than he was at this rate._

_Mu smiled hesitantly, "Yes… nothing wrong… everything is fine." He lied and silently planned to report this to Roushi, he should know what to do._

_Shaka shrugged, "Well… if you say so."_

**_End of flashback_**

Saga can tell that Mu at least knew his master was dead, and someone had replaced him. At this point he didn't care if Mu dare to reveal his identity at risk of labeled as traitor, but his green eyes that flashed anger for a brief second burned on his mind as constant reminder he had rob a young saint off of a teacher and father figure. Not to mention his evil side would think of Mu as a threat and looking for a way to get rid of him or at least labeled him as traitor.

"Ugh… this foolish ambition of mine… has ruined so many lives." He muttered in regret then looked up to the night sky, "Please tell me! How can I atone my sin? Please…" he repeated again and again desperately, "Please…" Then as if weighted down by regret and despair Gemini Saga looked down, ashamed to raise his face to gaze at sky, to heaven where all Gods reside.

Unknown to him one of shooting star flew closer to his direction, the orb of light stopped in front of him, Saga slowly raised his head when his eyes caught the sight of the blinding light. "Who are you?" he asked out loud, the Gemini saint can feel an enormous cosmos within the sphere of light, a pure yet in the same time blazing fiercely like Sun.

The sphere of light was silent before a voice echoed though Saga's cosmos, **"Demand someone's name after you tell them yours…"**

Saga gasped because of shock, then answered nervously. "I am Saga… Gemini Saga."

**"Gemini saint of this era…"** The voice muttered thoughtfully, **"You looked just like him..**" He commented.

"Who are you?" Saga asked slowly.

"…"

The sphere of light shattered to many fragments of light as a form of steed descended to the ground before Saga,** "I am… Pegasus, Gemini saint…. Gemini Saga is it you, whose soul crying tears of blood yearning for salvation?"** At silent reply he got, asked again, **"Are you the one who killed my friend, Shion?"**  
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Review please!

**before anyone ask why none of them though of Defteros and Aspros... it's spoiler so skip the italic word below~ and feel free to ask and pointed out any mistake that didn't fit canon.**

**I really want to put Next dimension as it's undoubtedly can0n... and it's also interesting to me but gold saint we get to know excluding Dohko and Shion are SHijima, Izo, OX and Cardinale =_= and there is too little info to use in this story. And yes... he will use Tenma as his name once again, I want to put Shun as early as possible which mean Ikki would be in tow ^^ they are in one set before they are sent to training ground after all. I am sure some of you didn't read LC instead only read classic one and ND as it's canon by Kurumada-sensei or even only watching the anime. Maybe once in a while you will be confused when LC element mentioned in this story... I would try to not do this often, but when I do I will put spoiler in author note that explain as clear as possible.  
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BTW talking about Kanon is not greek name~ in Japanese some manga pointed out that Kanon means singing flowers XDDD

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_Aspros' betrayal set 3 years before Defteros first appeared in manga as Demon of Kanon island, and no gold saint except Virgo Asmita knew Defteros took Gemini cloth with him as well as position as Gemini saint. And from the last time Gemini was seen in manga, no one except Asmita knew they participated in holy war, and Defteros also tinkered Dohko's memory about him a bit so... I don't know for sure Dohko is aware of Defteros or not._

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	2. Golden Conspiracy

**Even though some gold saints described less smart compared to Camus, Shaka, Mu and Saga in my story, they are not ridiculously dumb. It's just this four goldies are the brain of the group for good reason. And topic I write for their conversation is not common knowledge... at least not what a knight in training would learn. Maybe this is not widely known but it can safely presumed that Gold saints are not blind of technology, no offence to those who write them stuck in stone age, in fact it's amusing if they really are ^^ but sadly/ fortunately nope. In episode G, Aiolia and other gold saints definitely not stuck in their temple and go out to modern world like Aiolia do. **

**Talking about knowledge or how smart… they are 7 here so I can't just put them as smart as I know they are when they were 15-22 in episode G. But I am sure it's safe to assume it's canon that… all Gold saints receive education for international language with Greek as daily language (well duh!) It's shown in G, Aiolia can speak 3 languages, Greek, English, and Chinese ^^ not bad for him huh? I don't know about other language but English and Chinese are international after all. But this is 7 years later…**

**And don't forget... there are 2 other story that's not SS fic whose readers also waiting for update but because SS is on the top of my fave list I write SS faster! ^^/ so please be patient!

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_spoiler: defteros is younger gemini saint who is also mentor of Tenma other than Dohko... he is also called as demon of Kanon island, it's not confirmed which one of Aspros or Defteros that reincarnate to Saga or Kanon so I went with switching the younger one become the older so I assume Saga was Defteros... _

_noted that Tenma was taught about cosmos by three gold saints or at least explain to him, Dohko is the one who teach him the basic, Asmita is the one who told him about ultimate cosmos/ seventh sense like Mu did the bronzes, and Defteros told him more about cosmos and advanced technique~_

_Golden round: the most important meeting where Pope/Athena called the 12 gold saints who scattered on the world to sanctuary for a meeting, mentioned in episode G chapter 5 _

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Chapter 2: Golden Round Start!  
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Saga stared at celestial horse before him, creature he only ever read from books of mythology in sanctuary library. The winged steed who was born from blood which had spilled from the severed head of the Gorgon Medusa, ethereal creature with incomparable beauty that once was the pride of Olympian. Saga was at lost of what happened in the last few seconds as Pegasus introduced himself. Once he was able to raise his face, Saga knew who he was talking to.

"**Gemini Saga is it you, whose soul crying tears of blood yearning for salvation?" Pegasus asked.**

Saga didn't answer, his tears had dried out on his cheeks. His tongue felt numb as he looked back at Pegasus, but soon regretted it when he felt his whole body like chained to the ground once his eyes locked to those golden orbs. It was Pegasus' second question that shocked him, **"Are you the one who killed my friend, Shion?" **

His eyes widened in disbelief as he tried to comprehend what was said, Pegasus spat the question full with anger as it echoed on Saga's mind through his cosmos. Saga looked down as shame once again weighted his head, teeth gritted as he struggled to calm himself to not broke in tears again. "I… am… this Saga… indeed…"

Saga gasped when he saw Pegasus raised his hoof, ready to strike him. The Gemini saint fought control of his reflexes as a warrior to dodge, as he had every intention to accept punishment the celestial steed would bestow upon him. His eyes closed, ready to embrace death but all he could feel was air knocked out of his lungs as he was thrown back by wind when Pegasus' hoofs crushed the ground beneath him. He blinked in confusion but his eyes widened when Pegasus spread his regal wing wide and moon as if captured between it, he was ready to takeoff.

"WAIT! PEGASUS!" Saga exclaimed as his hand reached out.

The celestial steed held his wings in its place then folded it back, **"What? Do you have something to say?" **He asked.

Saga took a deep breath, "You… said, Pope Shion is your friend… I… killed him. Won't you kill me for revenge?"

Pegasus was silence, and then answered tonelessly. "**Revenge… ?"** Saga could hear a mocking laugh echoed on his mind, "**If… I stained my hoofs with your blood, will Shion return?"** He asked, Saga stood up shakily with regret painted all over his face. "**You are a sinner so it's my duty to punish you?**" Pegasus spat mockingly, **"Don't be ridiculous Gemini Saga…"**

"Then tell what should I do to atone?" Saga asked desperately.

He can just ignore this man and walked away from him. Pegasus knew that, but he was hesitated to leave Saga. He was not supposed to hang around a saint who was mourning for sins, when he was better of locating where Athena was. He knew that her reincarnation survived and he should track her down so he can reincarnate himself as close as possible, Pegasus saint should be always by her side. He had to ignore chaos that stirred within sanctuary, Athena was more important! Shion was killed; there was nothing he could do about it. The man who killed him, this Saga had acted as the false pope and took control of sanctuary. At this condition of his, Saga who fell in despair and thrown between dark and light within him. Sanctuary will… fall apart to pieces!But Athena...

Could he walk away from this pitiful man?

"_I'll say it again! Take me as your student!" Tenma yelled with determined voice._

"_Heh…" Defteros huffed, "You really deserve to be more than food!"_

"…" This man had the same face of his mentor, the man who called as demon of Kanon Island. Secretly Pegasus had an urge to ask to the same-faced man if he really was a cannibal in his previous life, Pegasus mused. Defteros was a brave and strong saint who had taught him so many things,and he could remember how painful it was when he knew Defteros had died to save his brother.

Revenge he said?

Isn't that one of many reason he, Athena and Hades locked in this everlasting war?

He kept avenging what he had lost and never satisfied, he had forgot how it feel... lust of blood because of hatred. Feeling of wanted to tore your enemies apart for what they had done to you. In the end he always forgot about revenge and return to his wish, need, and life he had to protect Athena, human race and earth. Defteros will approve this, for that man had damned hatred and revenge for his discrimination to the deepest pit of Kanon Island.

"_If you want power, you have to climb up brat!"_

"_Take care of this cloth, Pegasus…"_

Pegasus closed his eyes when Saga's face blurred became Defteros, he can't bear to see the man he respected in the past reduced to someone who broke in despair before him. He can't walk away nor he think Athena would approve him to leave one of her saints, to turn a blind eye to what might happen to sanctuary from now on. It can't be helped, he thought painfully.

"**Do you…"** Pegasus began, **"Know who I am?"**

Saga was silent; his mouth opened then clamped shut. Instead of a reply he shook his head, Saga knew the creature before him was Pegasus and all myth he involved into but that was not the answer Pegasus asked. **"I am sure… just like those before him, Shion hid my history."**

"Your history?" Saga repeated.

Pegasus took a deep breath then began, **"Since the age of myth… Pegasus saint will always be by Athena's side as her protector, I am the soul of Pegasus saint…"**

Saga's eyes widened in surprise as the truth sank in, "Soul of a saint?"

**"I was reincarnated and became Pegasus saint again and again in all previous holy wars." **Pegasus stated in lofty tone, **"I have fought with many gods to the point they called me as great sinner of heaven…"**

"Sinner? But you…" Saga stammered.

Pegasus narrowed his eyes, "Once you raise your fist against gods, you are considered as a sinner… even though you did it for the sake of other god. And I am…" He trailed off, "The soul of a saint who have dare to stain my hand with blood of deities, Hades… Poseidon, Eris… and many gods who warred against Athena in the past."

Saga's eyes widened, "Then you… "

**"What happened to me is none of your business…"** Pegasus spat. Saga can't help but shut his mouth up, stammering an apology. **"Do you wish to atone for your sin?"** Asked Pegasus as his wings flapped wide, shadowing the Gemini saint from the moonlight. Maybe he had to take extreme measure like this for now, he can't allow sanctuary to fall in pieces. Not when Athena was far away from her saints, and when she returned it might be too late.

Saga looked up as tears of regret and despair flowed endlessly from his blue eyes, "Yes... I would be more than happy to give my life."

The celestial steed huffed, **"Your life worth nothing if you die, and can you imagine what happened if you didn't continue this farce? Sanctuary will fall in chaos with disappearance of Athena, the death of Sagittarius saint and Shion..." **

"Then what should I do?" Saga asked in desperate tone. "I just can't..."

Pegasus folded it's wings as locked it's gaze to Saga, **"This is a test for Athena... I believe one day she will return and take her rightful place in sanctuary, till then... doing your duty as a Pope is the least you can do. The pain of lies you will pile to hide your crime is considered as punishment... even though your evil side is the one who killed Shion and betray Athena..." **He trailed off, **"Your sin is letting yourself conquered by that evil... as much as I pity you, Saga… you have to bear with it." **

"I am understand..." He said as looked down, froze on his track. "This is all my fault..."

**"Saga..."**

He looked up hesitantly, "Yes... Pegasus..."

THe celestial steed inched closer to the fake pope and once again flapped his wing open as if wanted to intimidate him.** "If you wish... this might be ease yourself of your pain knowing you can do more than just acting as false pope, this is all for Athena..."**

Saga gulped, "What can I do?"

**"In this life... I want to be stronger... faster than before, even though fate will bring me back to my armor and goddess... I don't want to wait for fate therefore... in this life..." **He trailed off, **"For the first time I will follow Athena's example to reincarnate within sanctuary's wall..."**

"You want to be raised in sanctuary?" Saga asked in disbelief.

**"Yes... " **Pegasus answered.

Saga stood up, gritting his teeth. "I might kill your reincarnation! I have tried to kill infant Athena! What make you think I wouldn't do the same thing to you?"

Pegasus narrowed his eyes,** "Unlike Athena… I am just a human being Saga, but… in the other hand I am also called as God Slayer." **He mocked,** "What a flashy title, don't you think?"**

"…"

"**I... can be considered Athena's weapon, now… don't you think I am a tempting existence for man who desire power to fight God?"** He asked mockingly, as much as Pegasus hated it. This very reason was one that made him suffer the most in all wars he ever had in the past.

"!"

Saga took a step back, stumbling like a newborn calf. "You… are telling my dark side that if he play his card right…" saga trailed off in fear, "Your power would be his?"

Pegasus paid no mind to chaos that stirred within Saga as his words sank in, **"When I am reincarnated… I would be a defenseless infant, the power of saint who called as God Slayer would be in your hands. Will you try to control me? Or… will you kill me in fear of my power…" **

But before Saga can answer that question Pegasus' soul shone, his wings wrapped his whole body like a cocoon. Saga can't move as he could feel a massive cosmos explode within the wrapped wings then became smaller and smaller in each passing seconds. Saga held his breath when the wings opened, revealing an infant with brown hair sleeping peacefully. Pegasus's wings then disappeared as it wrapped back to the infant's back.

"Pe…ga…sus…?" Saga stammered as his hand reached out, without thinking he took of his mantle then wrapped it around the infant to keep it warm. Then he heard the last message that echoed on his mind.

"**Now… it's your choice Saga, in previous war I was named as Tenma… Dohko would know me. But… I don't want to involve him again…"** He whispered, on his mind he could see his blood brother smiling at him and how sad Dohko was the last time he left Dohko**. "He wouldn't let me to be here… please keep in your mind of these conditions."**

"Conditions?" Saga repeated as locked his eyes at infant on his hand, expecting him to speak.

Cold wind blew as Moon began to set on the horizon, **"Libra Dohko should never know I was born in sanctuary, second… only tell the rest of gold saints briefly about me and my connection with Athena. And the last one… "**

Saga's tears fell when he heard what was said, as he hugged infant on his arms gently as whispering vow to protect him from now on no matter what happened even from his evil side.

"**Stay alive… Saga… till one day you can show your face to Athena and judged fairly by her. Till then… stay alive…"

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**GOLDEN HALL (Sanctuary)  
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The Golden Hall was a magnificent room, which it's ceiling, was carved with circular clock of zodiac from gold. The room was circular with no wall instead supported by many columns, and on the center there were twelve columns that on the top was astral form of Greek zodiac burning by eternal golden flame. On the center of the room was magnificent replica of solar system made of gold and various gem with the same color of planets.

He had come early to the golden hall to attend Golden Round, it was the second time he ever attended the meeting, and the first one was one year ago when they received their cloth. Shaka stared at letters on his hand, which in the middle had seal of Aries Zodiac carved on it and another one carved with Libra seal. Why in Athena's name he agreed to take Mu's letter to the Pope? He supposed to drag his friend to sanctuary all the way from Jamir no matter what! Unknown to Shaka who was busy with his own little world, Aldebaran was approaching him from behind, the young Taurus saint can't help but confused of why Shaka didn't greet him. The usual Virgo saint he knew would have greeted him when he took his first step on the hall, and it was never a good thing when someone like Shaka could be distracted by something to the point he can't notice someone as huge as Aldebaran.

Aldebaran crossed his arms on his chest, "Virgo Shaka?" He called.

Much to Aldebaran's surprise the Virgo saint yelped as his hold on something loose and dropped it to the ground, then Shaka hastily picked it from the ground. He turned his closed eyes to Aldebaran, which in his opinion might have been bulging if opened. "Aldebaran? You… arrive early." He said nervously.

The Taurus saint can see how dazed Shaka was and it was clear he really didn't notice someone approaching him from behind? "You come earlier than me Shaka…" Aldebaran pointed out.

"Oh! Yes… I am." Shaka agreed in a daze.

Aldebaran coughed then narrowed his eyes at the Indian saint, "Okay… who are you and what did you have done to our beloved 'Closest man to God' huh?"

"… Pardon?" Shaka raised an eyebrow.

Aldebaran huffed, "You know? If you do something to Shaka, you can be sure Mu and me will do something nasty to you. Well… I will, if there is anything left after Mu is done…" He listed on, "And Aiolia will also…"

Shaka raised his hand, "Aldebaran… enough, this is me alright…"

"Well… you have behaved so un-Shaka like in the past few minutes." Aldebaran pointed out, "Spacing out like that and missing my huge presence!"

Shaka rolled his eyes beneath his eyelids, "Well… it's just…" He trailed off as raised Mu's letter to Aldebaran's sight.

"Is it Mu's?" Aldebaran asked in disbelief, "I though it's strange I don't see Mu anywhere, I though he would come together with you!"

Shaka shook his head, "Mu is busy, there are many cloths he need to fix." He said tiredly.

"And since when Mu have deadline in fixing cloths? He can fix it anytime, right?" Aldebaran asked worriedly, "Or is he unwell?"

Shaka shook his head, "No he is fine!" He lied, as much as Shaka hated to lie to his friend Mu seemed didn't want anyone to know about his condition. Mu was not ill or anything physically but mentally… he seemed so depressed. "Maybe he is just caught up in his work, and don't want to work halfway." He reasoned, "I am assure you that Mu is fine Aldebaran… if there is anyone we should be worried about, it would be…"

Aldebaran nodded, "I passed by Leo but didn't see him anywhere…"

"I also… can't find Aiolia anywhere…" Shaka muttered sadly, it saddened him when two of his friends seemed in difficult time on their life, Aiolia however… he knew what troubled him. "I still can't believe Aiolos is capable of such crime…"

"Yeah who knows… the role model of sanctuary is capable of it…" Someone mocked from the entrance of the hall, a figure that approached the two gold saints revealed to be their fellow saint from the fourth temple. "Well well… isn't this our closest man to god?" Deathmask taunted in mocking voice, "I didn't expect you to be so… lenient in judging people Shaka… I though you have proper grasp in human nature? You should know that even the most holy one might have the darkest side buried deep within them…" Deathmask drawled mockingly with a smirk on his face. "Including the one who closest to god." He sneered.

"… I am not the one who entitled myself as the closest one to God, Deathmask…" Shaka replied calmly, "I was stating an opinion…"

"A weak opinion…" DeathMask cooed, "Unbecoming of a gold saint… don't you think?"

Shaka didn't answer instead Aldebaran stepped on the argument, "Like you can say what unbecoming of a gold saint DeathMask…"

"Huh! So… golden bull want to pick a fight?" The Cancer saint threatened as raised his forefinger.

The Virgo saint stepped in between them, his eyes opened slightly, glimmer of cerulean blue peeked between golden eyelashes. "Keep your distance… Cancer saint, from me and my friends… we are not allowed to provoke each other, but if you insist… it would be self-defense in our part."

"Huh!" DeathMask huffed as walked away to another corner of the hall. "Suit yourself… Virgo no Shaka…"

"…"

" As despicable as usual…" Aldebaran shook his head, "Whose idea to grant gold cloth to someone like him?"

Shaka narrowed his eyes then closed it, "Cancer cloth might think otherwise of it's bearer." He drawled in lofty tine.

Aldebaran laughed good naturedly, "Whatever you say Shaka… but… back to Aiolia, do you think he will come?"

"What reason he might has for not attending Golden Round?" Shaka asked indignantly, "He live in sanctuary and monitored closely… since… but it's not like I can't understand why he don't want to see any of us."

"It must be painful…" Aldebaran muttered, "For him to see us, just few days ago he still one of noble gold saints and now… he is a traitor's brother."

Shaka opened his mouth to reply but stopped in favor to greet his fellow saints, "Long time no see… Aquarius Camus… Scorpio Milo."

Aldebaran blinked then turned his back, "Oh… it's you."

In instance all occupants of the hall could feel cold air emitted from the ice saint, "About Aiolia… he should come despite of any feeling he has, as a saint… we shouldn't be misled by feelings. It's our duty to attend Golden Round…" Camus said serenely.

Milo nodded in agreement, "My sympathy for Aiolia but… if he absent from this Golden Round he would…"All gold saints held their breath when Shura came in with stoic face, he walked pass them to another corner of the hall with his back was facing them. As if he didn't want to show his face to anyone.

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"Oh… my goddess…" Aldebaran groaned, "Why our Pope hold a Golden Round at the time like this?"

Milo nodded in agreement, "Whatever the reason is… even if it's Shura, I don't think he is in good condition after he executed Aiolos few days ago…" He muttered regretfully, "With him alone in this hall… the tension is high! I don't want to imagine when Aiolia come!"

"Milo… they should not…" Camus began.

The Scorpio saint groaned, "Oh… shut it Penguin! Shura is as wooden as ever if not more…" He pointed out lazily. "But still… the air around him really…" He grumbled as sweating cold sweats, his eyes locked at Shura. "He is scary… somehow…"

Shaka sighed, he can expect on the meeting Aiolia and Shura undoubtedly would be on the spotlight. He hoped no problem would happen in this meeting, "By the way Shaka, where is Mu?" Shaka though his heart would leap out of his throat when Camus asked him about My.

"He is busy… so he can't attend this Golden Round." He said as waved two letters on his hand. "Mu's and Roushi's letter… they can't come."

Camus closed his eyes briefly, "I see… Roushi never able to attend our meeting anyway but…" He muttered thoughtfully, "Mu is busy because of what? Fixing cloth?"

Before Shaka could open his mouth to reply Milo cut him in, "That can't be… all saints who broke their cloth and went to Jamir, they should report it beforehand to me or Aiolia, no one report anything in last few months…" Milo informed helpfully. "Me, Aiolia, and Aiolos are in charge of that affair in case they didn't make it… so new candidate would be prepared by the time Mu send the cloth back to sanctuary."

Camus nodded, "I see…" The ice saint turned his attention to Shaka to Aldebaran, "So what keep him in Ja…" Camus stopped when he saw Shaka and Aldebaran paled then without a word they turned their back at him.

Aldebaran had his arm on Shaka's shoulders, his big body shielding the other from seeing what they were doing, "You said…he is busy fixing cloth!" Aldebatan whispered in panic.

Shaka groaned, "That's what Mu told me! I know there is something fishy when he was fidgeting and spoke like a robot to me this morning when I came to his tower!"

Aldebaran slapped his forehead, "And why you let him lying Shaka? If he didn't come with appropriate reason… this is serious! Golden Round is the most important meeting and even if Mu is Pope's disciple, he can't get away from this for sure!" Aldebaran whispered back.

"I know I shouldn't listen to him!" Shaka sighed, "What should we do? It's me who Pope would ask for details later!"

Aldebaran rubbed his temple, "Well… we better do something! Tell me, if we sprinted down to the border of 12 temples and teleport to Jamir and drag Mu back here…"

"Bad idea!" Shaka shook his head, "The meeting will start in few minutes! Anyone would be suspicious of us if we go out now!"

Camus cleared his throat, Shaka and Aldebaran hastily turned back to him. "What are you talking about?" He asked coldly.

Shaka smiled at Camus, "Nothing that might concern you, Aquarius Camus…" Aldebaran nodded in agreement but he did worse than Shaka in hiding his panic as he was sweating bullets.

Camus raised an eyebrow when he saw Aldebaran's panicked face, but before he could ask he heard Shura was shouting from another corner of the hall, "How dare you!" Shura roared in anger.

DeathMask smirked, "Bring it on Shura!"

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Shura raised his hand high above his head, "You will pay!" He threatened as began to swing his hand but stopped when Excalibur landed on Camus hand that covered by thick layer of ice.

"What are you doing Capricorn Shura?" Camus questioned coldly, "Fight between gold saints is off-limits!" He reminded Shura.

"Heh…" DeathMask sneered as raised his forefinger but stopped when he felt someone was pointing forefinger at the back of his head.

Milo grinned, "Don't move Crab… you will regret it." He warned as his red nail gleaming bright red.

DeathMask gritted his teeth as his eyes locked on Milo, "You… damn brat…"

"Move Camus! I can't let him to trample on my pride a as saint and walk away from it unscathed!" Shura roared in anger.

Camus didn't move from his spot as ice crawled from his arms to Shura's, trapping the Capricorn saint's arm on his ice, "I will not move as long as you want to finish this argument with violence."

"It looks like our proud mountain goat can't move his holy sword!" DeathMask said playfully, "You shouldn't be that mad just because I ask how it feels to have your best friend's blood on your hand."

"DeathMask… you…" Shura gritted his teeth and blood trickled from his mouth.

Milo though DeathMask had went overboard with his joke this time, "Don't forget you can't move either Crab… so shut your mouth." He spat as raised his red nail threateningly.

DeathMask laughed, "Who said I can't…" He stop laughing when he felt someone was binding him tightly with cosmos, "What the…"

Shura also felt the same, "Ch! Who did this?" But soon he figured it out, he glared at Virgo saint who held his palms in front of his chest. "Shaka!"

Aldebaran strolled toward where his comrades gathered with Shaka in tow, "Okay… time's up, no more fighting… Golden Round would begin soon and if you make any problem now, the punishment would be dire."

"And I _said_ keep your distance DeathMask, don't bother anyone anymore if you want me to release you." Shaka warned threateningly.

"Grr..."

"..."

* * *

"I am sorry Shaka… it seems my friend picking a fight whenever I am not around, is he?" Aphrodite said serenely, warning the occupants of the room of his presence.

DeathMask groaned, "Aphrodite…"

Aphrodite sighed, "Don't start… "He warned as dragged the cancer saint away by his arm, "Sorry for the problem he caused…" Other saints except Shura nodded, so they walked away as the others tried to calm Shura down.

"I am not finished yet!" He growled.

The fair saint glared murderously, "If you make problem here… it would be me who Pope hold responsible. It as if I am your babysitter or something…" He groaned, "I don't care what's your problem with Shura but if you can't be quiet till the rest of Golden Round…" he trailed off, "You will wake up tomorrow on a bed of roses…" which even though sounded not threatening when it came from Pisces, whatever roses related meant something dangerous.

DeathMask gulped nervously, "Okay…"

* * *

"So that's it Shura… " Aldebaran muttered as patted Shura's shoulder, "Sit down and calm yourself… remember that we have an important meeting."

Shura nodded, "I know… I am sorry for this stupid commotion."

Milo nodded, "Relax Shura… you have it hard in the last few days… we know…"

"I…" Shura trailed off but stopped when he saw Aiolia entered the room hesitantly. The Leo saint scanner the room nervously as his eyes widened when he saw all of his comrades were present, he was looking around as if there was a hole he could use to hide his face.

Milo groaned, "This is what I dreaded the most."

* * *

Shaka and Aldebaran didn't waste their time as they came closer to Aiolia who took a step back when he saw his friends approaching him, "Shaka… Aldebaran…"

"You are not planning to run away from us, do you?" Aldebaran said as shook his head, "Who do you think we are Aiolia? We are not that narrow-minded to think of you as traitor…"

Aiolia sighed, "I appreciate that but you better stay away from me… or rumor will…" He trailed off.

"Don't tell me society of sanctuary will also condemn us just because of we are your friend Aiolia…" Shaka said as crossed his arms, " That's just…"

"Ridiculous?" Aiolia asked, "I know… but since I was released from interrogation, even my adept… Galan, everyone keep talking whether or not he is involved in that case…"

Aldebaran gasped, "Your adept too?"

"…Yes…" Aiolia nodded as running his fingers through his brown locks, "I don't know what to do anymore…" he said in desperate voice, "It seems all people who come in contact with me might be a traitor on their eyes!"

"Aiolia…"

"…"

* * *

All conversation stopped when the Pope entered the hall, " Take your respective place, Gold saints…" Without any word all gold saint walked to where their pillar was an stood there, waiting for further instruction.

Saga sighed, the situation was worse than he though. Gold saints were in chaos and in the verge of breaking apart. DeathMask was always one who believed power was justice, Aphrodite was not far in his belief, for them if you're not strong enough you were no justice. This made them always clashed in argument with other gold saints, Aiolos was the oldest and always became mediator between them, he was powerful so even DeathMask and Aphrodite looked up to him.

With him faking Aiolos' betrayal automatically Aiolia was placed in the worse place and even though his comrades wouldn't be so fast in suspecting him, at the very least he would has tense relationship with almost everyone in sanctuary, he was no different from a traitor in the eyes of sanctuary. Shura despite being loyal to sanctuary was someone who had killed his best friend, traitor or not had been branded that he was someone who wasn't hesitated to kill his own friend. Anyone's opinion of him was not exactly great in good way, and Aiolia might want avenge his brother.

Mu as Pope's disciple knew what happened in sanctuary and he was sure all of his comrades were under the false Pope's thumb therefore even Shaka and Aldebaran who was his closest friends might be his enemy in the future. Milo was a carefree child but at the time like this even him might hardly trust anyone except Camus and vise versa. Aldebaran and Shaka in the other hand as friend of Aiolia and Mu would also be in a very unpleasant position in the future, it was just about time Aries Mu would be labeled as traitor. He had received Mu's letter and he was sure the Aries saint was lying but much to Shaka's and Aldebaran's relieve the false Pope didn't ask anything further. From now on it was undoubted their friendship would be shaky.

The highest rank of Athena's saints were having major distrust among themselves, it was a very big crisis that might rooted to their lowest rank. And Saga was well aware he was the source of this, and he can't just die to atone his sin. For now he had to take responsibility…

"So… let's the Golden Round begin!" He exclaimed with voice that full of authority.

* * *

"Wait holy father…" Milo said as raised his hand, "Gemini Saga is not here." he said as pointed at Gemini's column.

Saga was silent before he answered calmly, "Saga has an important mission since few months ago… he is monitoring movement of Poseidon army in case they are on the move." Saga was not exactly lying as that was indeed mission he had few months ago and it was a long-term mission that paused when Pope called him and Aiolos back to sanctuary.

Aldebaran looked at Pope who was talking to Milo, he was wondering why Pope Shion overlook Mu's lame excuse for not attending the meeting. But whatever the reason was he should ponder over it later. Aldebaran looked at Shaka and gave him pitying look, he felt lonely, as column on both side of his was empty. But Shaka was in the most unpleasant spot right now. Beside Shaka was Aiolia and then DeathMask, the Leo saint and Cancer was glaring dagger at each other and Shaka looked ready to jump between them anytime if he needed. Not to mention DeathMask' right side was empty because Saga was away and beside Shaka was Roushi's place, so if anything explode between Aiolia and DeathMask, Shaka would be the only one who close enough to interfere. Aphrodite was beside Camus and he was quite far, poor Shaka… mused Aldebaran.

"The purpose of this meeting would be explained later… First of all I will tell all of you about a legend." The false pope began.

DeathMask raised an eyebrow, "Legend?" He repeated as his glaring contest with AIolia paused in favor to pay attention to the Pope.

Saga nodded, "Not ordinary legend… but… it don't have a title." He said in lofty tone, "But… maybe the most suitable title is… Athena's protector, the sinner of heaven."

Murmur began to broke on the hall as gold saints began to broke their formation then formed group with their closest comrades, Saga waved his hand, telling them to form a line in front of him as he speak. "Since the age of myth Athena always have a saint she trusted the most by her side in holy war, you can say… he is her closest saint."

Shura narrowed his eyes, "Is it one of gold saint?" He asked.

Saga shook his head, "It always the same saint since the age of myth."

"But that can't be… since through centuries saints always replaced by younger generation." Camus muttered thoughtfully.

Saga nodded in agreement, "This saint is peculiar… he is called as great sinner of heaven because he had wounded gods Athena fought in the past…"

Gasp of disbelief could be heard through the hall, "A mere human wounded gods?" Aphrodite repeated in disbelief.

"He is also called a god slayer… this saint might had killed gods he fought at some point in the past…" Saga continued calmly.

The room fell in silence before Shaka broke it, "I see… but if a saint who possess such power exist." He trailed off, "Why no one ever heard of him?"

"It suppose to be a secret which only survivor of holy war know because they ever met the said saint…" Saga informed tonelessly. "To protect the said saint from harm… before holy war begin."

Milo frowned, "Well then… holy father, why you tell this to us then? And who is this saint."

Saga nodded, "I will tell you soon… " He said as clapped his hands then an old female servant entered the room with a bundle on her arms. Saga approached the old servant, "How is he?"

The old servant whose name was Diana nodded, "He is a healthy baby, holy father…" She said as chuckled softly when the infant pulled her white locks, "Very energetic…" She said as handed the baby carefully to the pope then left after excused.

Seven pairs of eyes plus closed one locked on the laughing baby on Pope's arms, no one found their voice at absurdity of the last few minutes. This was Golden Hall and they were having Golden Round and suddenly a baby was brought inside, at first they though the baby was Athena but they remember that Athena had straight purple hairs not curly and brown. And somehow no one found their voice to ask whose baby was that?

"The reason of this meeting is this baby…" The false pope said as looked down to the baby on his arm, "His name is… Tenma."

At silent reply he got the pope continued, "Tenma is the name of previous Pegasus saint…" The pope informed in lofty tone.

"Pegasus…" Shaka repeated then looked at AIolia beside him who was in charge of saint in sanctuary, "Isn't Pegasus is a bronze cloth?"

Aiolia nodded, followed by Milo who asked the same question by Camus. "Yes… it's a bronze and according to our record, no one wear it since the last holy war." Aiolia said.

Milo's eyes widened, "Oh…" He grumbled, "That cloth… I remember as that is one of cloths that have weird record."

Aphrodite joined the conversation, "Weird record? What's so weird about it?" but stopped himself to ask more then looked at the Pope in case he had asked too much and interrupted their meeting in the process.

"Feel free to discuss about Pegasus cloth among yourself, you will understand what I want to say later better that way…" Saga said.

"Thank you holy father…" Aphrodite said then turned to Aiolia, "Then...?"

The Leo saint scratched his head with thoughtful look, "Uhm… it only have saint every two and half centuries… " He pointed out. "Only when Holy war began…"

"That's not really weird…" Shura said, "Some cloth rarely owned by saint… Andromeda cloth haven't owned by anyone for almost six centuries and Phoenix cloth is never become anyone's and still locked in Death Queen Island."

Milo nodded in agreement, "We aware of that… but just in case your forgot Shura… to get Andromeda cloth you have to pass a very hard test, even by trainee's standard that test ranked quite high up there for its death rate." He explained.

"As for Phoenix cloth… " Aiolia trailed off, "Even the death rate of that training ground is high, that place have the highest death rate followed by Andromeda Island… I even can't recall is there any saint that place ever produce, except… Guilty… the saint who was in charge of that island."

"So the conclusion is what?" DeathMask asked lazily, if there was anything he wanted now it would be out of this hall as soon as possible.

Milo rolled his eyes, "That Pegasus cloth is always in sanctuary since the age of myth, and according to our record… you won the cloth with competition… nothing big." He informed.

Camus narrowed his eyes, "So… that cloth seems as common as a bronze cloth could be…" He trailed off, "It's not hidden like Cygnus… no deadly test like Andromeda or located in dangerous training ground like Phoenix…" He listed on thoughtfully. "But how come it only have owner periodically, and it right when Holy war start?"

"Holy father…" Shaka called, "You know why? It's sounds very suspicious for me… there is no way a cloth even though it's just bronze to be locked away every two and half centuries… for no reason." The Virgo saint stated calmly.

Saga nodded then stepped closer to where gold saints stood, "Pegasus saint is the saint I told you… who was called great sinner of heaven and god slayer." Once again murmur and gasps of disbelief echoed on the hall.

"A mere bronze saint is the legendary saint you were talking about?" Deathmask exclaimed in disbelief. "How come?"

Milo nodded in agreement, "That's just impossible… the level of a bronze saint compared to us is like elephant and ant…" He pointed out, "There are _hardly_ any silver that can rival our power… and this _bronze_ is capable to fight gods?"

Saga sighed, he never realized that gold saints were quite arrogant because of their superiority compared to lower rank. This might cause serious harm in the future, he thought. "Believe what you want… but in fact two and half centuries ago… it wasn't a gold saint who fought by Athena's side directly against Hades. It's… Pegasus Tenma who fought Hades with Athena…"

Camus narrowed his eyes, "Sounds unbelievable at first but… holy father was the Aries saint who fought in previous war after all…" he trailed off, "I think it's true…"

Shaka nodded in agreement, "I believe that as well… as who knows what secret Pegasus saint had." Followed by Aiolia and Aldebaran who nodded too.

Milo rolled his eyes, "If Camus and Pope say so…" DeathMask and Aphrodite just shrugged before they nodded, they were not so into this discussion nor they seek to prolonged the argument.

Saga sighed in relieve as if they didn't believe this legend he can't have a logical reason to keep Tenma in sanctuary, "Well… then let me introduce you again… this baby is Pegasus Tenma… reincarnation of previous Pegasus saint." and once again everyone became silent.

Shaka was the first one who found his voice, "Is Pegasus saint was reincarnated in sanctuary just like Athena?"

Saga shook his head, "No… this is the first time, and maybe recent event is the cause… goddess he protected was in danger after all."

Aiolia and Shura looked down in regret as sadness crept on their heart, "Well then Holy father…" Camus began, "It seems… this matter is more complicated than how it looks. Can you please elaborate more?"

Saga nodded, he had read all record concerning holy war and he found quite useful information on SHion's personal journal as saint of previous holy war. He wrote quite a lot about Dohko's disciple, and from there Saga understood why Tenma didn't want Dohko to know what he had done. "Pegasus saint wounded Hades' immortal body long time ago and that's why Hades began to use vessel in the last holy wars." He began.

"I see…" Camus muttered thoughtfully, "Which mean Hades know he will meet Pegasus in the next war and didn't want to risk his body."

"That's right… " He said as looked down, "This saint… Athena and Hades was always trapped within circle called holy war…"

Shaka cleared his throat, "I see… so this baby is also important part of holy war, but tell me holy father… what we suppose to do from now on?"

Saga smiled beneath his mask, he could see all gold saints can catch where this was going. Everything would go as what Pegasus had planned, "I want you to help him to grow stronger in this era… he after all… is Athena's protector… and also… future god slayer."

**

* * *

**

**Rozan, China**

Dohko was sitting cross-legged right in front of the waterfall, he closed his eyes as wind and water can be felt gently brushing his wrinkled skin. Waterfall before him was part of water cycle that would never end; it was an unending circle. The old Libra saint looked down, on the depth of this river laid the dragon cloth, which represent Draco constellation.

Tenma, my little brother…

Dohko closed his eyes as the last memory of his blood brother replayed on his mind. A brown haired boy with pure white armor was smiling at him, not his usual goofy grin but a sad yet in the same time content smile. Dohko looked at stoned resin on his hand, inside of it a pure white wing trapped within, even after years passed it did not lost its brilliance. He had made it to be a pendant as reminder of Tenma, he also thought it sounded silly but maybe Pegasus' feather can lead him to the next incarnation of Pegasus saint.

What a silly hope, Dohko mused. So silly to the point after years of waiting, last night he was hallucinating the feather glowed brighter than usual for a while. Maybe Tenma's reincarnation was born last night? Dohko mused hopefully; no matter how silly it sounded he will always hope for it.

He after all was Athena's saint, warrior of hope.

No matter what, Athena's saint would never lose hope. Dohko closed his eyes briefly, no matter what he should not shed tears. Even when his last comrades died, he had to stay strong as his mission had not ended yet. And… this child, Shion's legacy, needed him…

Mu trudged with blank expression toward the old saint, when he was around few feet away from Dohko he straightened his back. Dohko didn't say anything at first, Mu in the other hand felt his tongue went numb. The Chinese saint in the end began the conversation as he felt Mu's tongue was burdened with sadness to the point he was afraid to speak.

"Mu…" Dohko called, "This old man… is waiting." He reminded the younger saint.

Mu bit his bottom lip, stammering weakly. "I… this… Aries Mu…"

Dohko sighed; he was never one who can be cruel for the good of others. He hated to admit it, but Shion was right when he said Dohko was a softhearted saint. But this time for Mu's sake he had to be harsh, the young saint would go through so much from now on. "Mu, my friends Shion never teach such a weak hearted saint who can't set aside his feeling for the duty sake." Dohko said without turned back to face Mu, he didn't want to see the boy's face, at least not till Mu fulfilled his duty.

Mu took a deep breath, as harsh as Dohko sounded it was right. He had to be strong from now on, "My apologize… Roushi, Aries Mu is here to report."

"Continue…" Dohko saint as stood up then turned his face to the young Tibeten, he smiled slightly when he saw determined face of Mu, a prove he was worthy to be Shion's legacy. "Aries no Mu…"

Mu bowed in respect, "Yesterday… I came back to sanctuary because I suspect something happened when I felt my master's cosmos vanished." Mu put so much effort on his voice in the last part so he didn't falter. "And I suspect Sanctuary is in a big chaos by now…"

Dohko nodded in agreement, "I also suspect as much…" The Libra saint muttered, "Did you go alone?"

Mu shook his head, "I asked Virgo Shaka to accompany me, in case I can't handle it myself…"

"A wise choice…" The Chinese saint commented, "Then what did you find?"

Mu gritted his teeth, "It's an unbelievable tragedy that happened in sanctuary." The Tibetan began, "Sagittarius Aiolos had committed the biggest crime in our history for abducting our goddess and also… it's assumed that he tried to kill her."

Dohko's eyes widened, he didn't know Aiolos well enough unlike Mu who lived near and was his friend's disciple, but from his encounter with the young saint when he was on mission in China to deliver Shion's message; Dohko could tell that Aiolos was a noble saint. Even though he was young, Aiolos was mature beyond his age and Dohko can tell how much Aiolos loved Athena when he told Aiolos story of Lady Sasha. He can almost imagine how alike Aiolos with hyper Tenma when Athena was born in sanctuary. How happy the young saint when at last he could meet his goddess.

"Did you manage to get your hands on the complete chronology of this incident?" Dohko asked calmly.

Mu nodded, "Once we entered the sanctuary the guards informed us right away…"

"… then?" Dohko urged Mu to continue.

Mu paused before continued; "However I am not sure this chronology provided by guards to us is reliable enough…" Mu pointed out, "It's late so it took a while to alert guards to pursue Aiolos and they only managed to catch up with him once before he completely took all of them out, if we want to believe those soldiers' story… we can at least believe this much."

" I see… but how Aiolos was caught red-handed?" Dohko asked as rolled his eyes to Mu. "His temple is the ninth temple, even if it's late… Shura, Camus, Aphrodite… at least one of them would aware Aiolos passed by their post."

Mu narrowed his eyes, "Camus was in Siberia… Shura and Aphrodite just returned to sanctuary from their respective training ground." The young saint closed his eyes, "Aiolos was trusted by our generation more than anyone else, even if they were aware of his presence they wouldn't bother to question him." He paused, "It's the Pope himself who caught him trying to stab Athena with a dagger." He shook his head, "And shortly after that, Aiolos fled with Athena, he managed to bring his cloth too… "

Dohko nodded, "Can you name temple that occupied that night, Mu?"

The young saint obeyed, "Pisces, Capricorn, Scorpio, Cancer, and Gemini…" He listed on, "Aside from Aiolia who was send on a mission, the rest of Gold saints were in their respective training ground."

Dohko ran through the list of saints who present that night on his mind, Aphrodite, Shura, Milo, Death Mask and then Saga… "Well then, what measures have been taken to retrieve Athena?"

Mu closed his eyes, "The pope ordered Aiolos to be killed on sight…" He informed, "Which… in my opinion…" Mu paused as locked his eyes to Dohko, asking for his permission.

Dohko nodded, "I think the same…" He agreed, "But elaborate for me, Mu…"

"It's just not make sense." Mu stated firmly with anger began to crept on his voice, "Until now… no one know what possessed Aiolos to commit such crime so it's just logical to try to capture him instead of executing." He paused to take a deep breath, "Not to mention Athena was with him, such reckless order to kill Aiolos on sight is risking Athena's safety!" Mu exclaimed then his voice waver in the end of his deduction, "And that possibly because…"

"The Pope hardly cares about her safety in the first place?" Dohko continued as calm as he could, but deep inside he was boiling. "But… it can't be just foot soldier that dispatched to catch Aiolos, he was a gold saint… "

Mu nodded, "Off course one of gold saint who was present in his post involved…" He trailed off, "And this is the very reason I believe we can dreaded the worse happened in sanctuary, Aiolos was innocent but framed by someone…"

"I suspect that much, but who is the gold saint who ordered to execute Aiolos?" Dohko asked.

Mu grimaced, then gulped nervously. "Of all saints… it…" Mu looked away, "It was Shura of Capricorn who executed Aiolos!"

Dohko's eyes widened, of all people it was his closest friend? Such a cruel order would never left from mouth of Athena's representative; Shion would never asked that from anyone! "Then… what happened to Shura?" Dohko can't help but worried what Shura had been through after he killed his friend who was almost a brother for him.

Mu gritted his teeth, "On my way to main temple, when I passed by Capricorn temple…" He trailed off sadly, "Me and Shaka can hear Shura's lament from his bedroom, he kept questioning himself if he had done the right thing when Aiolos didn't make slightest effort to defend himself. I can assume… Aiolos would rather kill himself than harming his fellow saint, and he was careful to not fight recklessly in fear of Athena's safety."

Dohko nodded, "I also think that was a plausible guess we can have… if Aiolos want to kill Athena he can do it when he fled from main temple, he wouldn't bother to bring her along when he can escape alone easier." He deducted carefully, "But… how about Athena? How is she?"

Mu's face fell at that, "They said Athena have returned to sanctuary safely but I am sure it's just a lie because no one know how or who retrieve her after Aiolos fled from Shura." He informed Dohko sadly, "Whoever wearing my master's mask undoubtedly planned to take over sanctuary and claimed he is acting under Athena's order."

Dohko can't be more agree with Mu about that, it was as plain as day what happened in sanctuary once you assumed Aiolos was innocent. "Aries no Mu…" He called.

"Hai… Roushi…"

Dohko took a deep breath, "From now on cut all ties with sanctuary and never ever accept any mission or invitation!"

Mu's eyes widened at that, "But Roushi! If I do that… The false pope will labeled me as a traitor!"

"Exactly…" Dohko agreed, "Whoever is this false pope I am sure he was aware you are the biggest threat because you are Shion's disciple." Dohko pointed out tonelessly, "He will seek your fault to label you a traitor, so no one would believe you even if you try to unveil the truth. It's just about time… and when he can't find anything…" Dohko trailed off.

"He will make a reason…" Mu continued bitterly, "Rather than having him orchestrating what can cause me labeled as a traitor it would be better to give him one." Mu concluded dryly but then he narrowed his eyes, "Will he try to kill me? If he managed to kill my master… I am…"

Dohko shook his head, "You are the only one who can fix our cloth… he will not kill you as long as you are still needed." The Chinese saint pointed out, "Not to mention…" Dohko's eyes widened, "Shaka… you went back with Shaka, right?"

Mu nodded. "Yes…"

"Did he notice something?" Dohko asked worriedly.

Mu looked thoughtful for a while before answered, "Maybe yes… maybe not…" He answered unsurely.

"What do you mean?"

His green eyes darkened slightly, "At first I thought Shaka noticed something when he said he felt something weird…"

"Was he suspicious of something regarding the false Pope you saw yesterday?"

Mu shook his head, "No… but Shaka did say something strange about what he feel inside the throne room."

Dohko was desperately hoped Shaka notice nothing, one more gold saint who aware of farce in sanctuary only would risk the secret to leak in unwanted time. It was not about who knew, Dohko was sure he can trust the young Virgo but the problem was he didn't want to drag more saint into this unknown danger if he can help it. "What did he say?"

"I stopped him from saying anything about what he felt when we were within sanctuary wall…" Mu explained tiredly, "Just in case… someone might hear us and then when I asked again he said… it's feel like darkness and light… in one moment mingled with each other in discord." He muttered thoughtfully.

"Does Shaka concerned about it? Did it alarm him?" Dohko asked again.

Mu shook his head, "No… he said it felt abnormal for a moment but when he thought of it again it was just how it suppose to be." Mu explained carefully, "As we know, all humans have light and darkness within them… usually none of them are in perfect balance, either suppose to be stronger."

"Yin and Yang concept…" Dohko muttered thoughtfully, "Balance between positive and negative, light and darkness… "

Mu nodded, "He said… abnormal feeling he had was… for a moment darkness wanted to wrap light within it, a darkness that wanted to dominate the light…" He finished bitterly, "Shaka might think because it was so fast, he was just being too sensitive over this…"

Dohko pondered for a moment about what Shaka said, the young boy after all was specialized in sensing something like this and his words can't be ignored. "Shaka wasn't disturbed at all?" Dohko asked, "He is Virgo after all… " He smiled slightly at the reminder.

Mu sighed, "I hope not Roushi…"

"If there was anyone who better of not knowing the truth till the time is right… it would be Aiolia… and then Shaka." He pointed out bitterly.

Mu's eyes widened, "I am understand if it's Aiolia… but Shaka?"

"As you know… Gold Saint's duty is not limited as fighter unlike lower rank…" Dohko began, "In your case… you are also our blacksmith, your master told me that…once all of you are a bit older the one who would take post as Pope's advisor are Shaka and Camus." He informed Mu bitterly, "It's no secret in sanctuary that both of them are blessed with wisdom, the false Pope wouldn't overlook this…"

Mu paled at that, "But… it's also risky for him to be so close with someone like Shaka and Camus, if he try anything funny, they will be suspicious!"

Dohko closed his eyes briefly then sighed, "On second though Mu… maybe you don't need to worry that much, Camus would spend most of his time in Siberia just like previous Aquarius saints… and you don't need to worry about Shaka actually…"

Mu almost raised his voice, "Why not? Shaka… he…" Mu stammered an apology when he realized he was being rude to the older saint.

Dohko shook his head, "I am understand Mu… he is your best friend, off course you are worried but…" Dohko trailed off, "If Shaka just like what Shion told me… trust me, he is perfectly capable to take care of himself." Dohko wasn't talking about power, Shaka after all was one of the youngest gold saint, only older than Milo.

Shion once told him if there were anyone who he thought was too alike with their predecessor of 18th century it would be Shaka. Dohko didn't know much about Asmita, he doubt anyone did except Pope Sage, and that was as far as a Pope should know about gold saint. But if there was one thing Dohko figured out about Asmita after he died, it was the truth that Asmita stood in neutral ground most of the time, his pledge wasn't belong to Athena till Tenma convinced him. It was no secret that in the past Asmita made everyone wary of him for various reasons down from his power to religion. Everyone, if you exclude Manigoldo and Kardia, because they hardly care. Shion wasn't worried Shaka would stray away from Athena because of doubt like Asmita did. Because his had friends who would never let him, but when the situation turned out like this. If he was anything like Asmita, he wouldn't pledge himself to Athena that easily, if it was so easy for the false pope to take over Athena's throne Shaka would doubt her like Asmita did. But in the other hand Dohko believed Asmita was a righteous saint, once he believe Athena was really the goddess who will bring them to peace, he had no hesitation to sacrifice himself for her.

"You don't have to worry about him Mu…" Dohko repeated, "Because… if he is the true Virgo saint like someone I know…" A Virgo saint who was righteous on his own right, someone who wouldn't pledge himself to Athena just because she was Athena but because she earned his loyalty. Someone who would never place a blind loyalty, "But in the end… you have just to believe in your friend, Mu…"

"Roushi…"

"Now…" Dohko took a deep breath, "Return to Jamir, and report anything to me when you receive any news…"

Mu nodded, "As you wish Roushi… "

* * *

**A day after Golden Round**

Camus was pouring tea to Milo's cup in Scorpio Temple, on the table bread, meat and salad was served. The smell of Darjeeling tea filled the air as Milo took a deep breath on the scent. The Scorpio was slicing the bread then filled it with cheese, lettuce, meat, tomato slice, and scramble egg. Camus was pouring tea to his cup when Milo decided to begin a conversation.

"So… what do you think of our second Golden Round Camus?" He asked before taking a bite on his sandwich.

Camus narrowed his eyes as he took a sip on his tea, "More interesting that I thought it would…" He replied coolly.

Milo rolled his eyes, "Come on Penguin… we get to know there is a baby in 12 temples we have to babysit, and in the future the baby will be god murderer…" He listed on.

"Even though… it's a synonym can you please use slayer instead?" Camus suggested as filled his plate with Caesar salad.

"It sounds cooler?" Milo asked with a grin.

Camus sighed, grumbling something about comedian Scorpio. "It's because… it's kind of different in a way… murderer does unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another, it's more for criminal… " He explained, "You don't want to disrespect a legendary saint with such title…"

For the umpteenth time whenever Milo was having a conversation with Camus, he rolled his eyes again. "I don't see how that is worse than Great Sinner of Heaven… not just a sinner but a great one."

"Do you have anything against this saint or something?" Camus accused good-naturedly with a smirk painted on his lips.

"Only the part we have to babysit him…" Milo answered in joking manner, "When I applied for this job I am sure… babysitting is not on the contract."

Camus chose to ignore the joke, as he had no intention to continue light talk they always engaged in before they start their real conversation. The Aquarius saint calmly put his cup down before muttered, "Say Milo… what do you think about this task?"

Milo huffed, as he knew Camus wanted to be serious so no more joke. "Like. I. Said… not our duty… pope's order but…"

"Milo…" Camus warned, "Seriously… don't you think Pope Shion is wise enough to hire a babysitter for Pegasus? We can't be the one who change his diaper or feed him. Don't be ridiculous…" He pointed out tonelessly.

"What a relieve…" he said mockingly, "But… can you guess why Holy Father asked us to swear secrecy about Pegasus' existence from Roushi and Mu?"

Camus shook his head, "I haven't figure that out yet… " He shrugged, "But then again… maybe it's because Roushi have his hand full with that special duty that Holy Father told us whenever we ask why Roushi never come to our meeting. And Mu also our blacksmith which require him to spend most of his time in Jamir."

Scorpio saint gave his friend an odd look, "Okay… so what's the deal?"

"They would rarely present in sanctuary, and in Roushi's case… he has never been here as long as we know." Camus pointed out, "So let them do their job without bothered by problem in sanctuary including Pegasus." Between biting on his sandwich Milo grumbling incoherently about something nonsense, "Please don't speak when your mouth is full…" Camus muttered calmly.

Milo swallowed the food on his mouth quickly, "I said… that's a pretty nonsense cause, never mind Roushi since he is already in this special mission since the last holy war and who knows what this mission of his, except our Pope. But Mu?"

"He is working on fixing broken cloth remember?" Camus reminded him as pouring more tea on the empty cup.

Milo rolled his eyes, "I mean… can't he work in sanctuary instead? What's the point of a temple if you never been there to live or protect it?" He pointed out.

Camus chuckled softly, "Who knows? Tower of Jamir according to our history has been there for so long as Lemurian workshop."

"And pray tell me, why no one ever think it would be more convenient if we build a workshop for them in sanctuary?" Milo grumbled with annoyed tone.

Camus sighed at the pleasant fragrance from tea that slowly filled his lungs, "We have one installed in Aries Temple…" He pointed out calmly.

"WHAT?"

The ice saint winced at how loud Milo was, "Yes… there is a workshop in Aries temple with complete equipment and everything." He confirmed.

Milo gritted his teeth, "Then what the hell Mu is doing in Jamir?"

"Milo, tell me that you can't be this stupid so you forgot something I told you less than few minutes ago." Camus drawled with slight irritation, "Otherwise I can't return to Siberia if you can't walk around on your own unassisted…"

"Penguin…" Milo began, "I am seven years old therefore my memory is working as perfect as scorpion's poison." At that Camus rolled his eyes, " Don't roll your eyes like that… and for your information I know what that ram is doing in that mountain, and yeah… not chewing grass like other mountain herbivore."

"…"

"No comment?" Milo asked.

"…"

"Well… that's penguin I always know, anyway… I am really pissed that you never told me there is a blacksmith workshop in sanctuary…" He grumbled begrudgingly.

Camus as usual was as cool as cucumber, "You never ask…"

The guardian of eighth temple sighed, "But how do you know that? You spend most of your time in Siberia with penguin and polar bear, and here I am who live in sanctuary didn't know about that damn workshop?"

"You will know if you learn history of sanctuary that's not limited to anything that related with your job Milo, if you ever bother to read history of Mu continent and Lemurian…" Camus trailed off. "Actually… some temples like Aries and Cancer have extra room which used to belong to Lemurian blacksmith like Mu."

"DeathMask… have extra room on his temple? Isn't that the room he use for…" Milo had sudden urge to vomit his breakfast, "His… you know… "

"I know… we better don't talk anything DeathMask related when we eat…" Camus muttered as he also felt his stomach knotted a little.

"But still!" Milo groaned, "Do you have any idea how many paperwork me and Aiolia have whenever we have to prepare new candidate for cloth? Seriously… if Mu stay in sanctuary he can save me and Aiolia a lot of trouble!"

"Most of the time you only need to prepare bronze candidate because they are the one who usually can't pass skeleton guards of Jamir…" Camus pointed out, "It's not that difficult to find bronze candidate."

Milo nodded hesitantly, "Yeah right but… "

"I get your point Milo…" Camus muttered softly, "Bronze saint who died in Jamir on their journey usually are newbie who are careless with their cloth, lack experience and power… but…" Camus trailed off, "Don't take this in wrong way Milo, but we can't sympathize weakness. With holy war approaching… if they can't survive rotten skeleton of Jamir they will be killed by Hades' specter effortlessly."

"In which… there is no point to keep the weak within our rank, that's what you want to imply…?" Milo sneered.

Camus sighed, "Save the drama Milo, just accept it… more or less I think to fix your cloth you need to prove yourself worthy to wear it again after you break it. It's just a form of responsibility" He paused then added, "I guess…"

"Che… you and your logical analysis." Milo muttered mockingly. "But Camus… what do you think? That holy war is just ahead… according to prediction we only have around fifteen years or less…"

"…"

"…"

"What do you want me to say?" Camus asked.

Milo stared at his friend as if he had grew second head, "Anything…"

"But I have no idea what can I say about Pegasus and holy war… I am just like you Milo, suddenly the information that holy war is not just a war that happen every two and half centuries was beaten into my head last night…" Camus reminded him with a tone that laced with irony, "Everyone are confused… about this reincarnation of gods and Pegasus saint, if you want to ask someone… I am not the correct person to ask."

Milo sighed as he gave up the idea to ask his genius friend, "So who?" He said as putting the last piece of his sandwich on his mouth.

"Who else?" Camus replied confidently as if the answer was as plain as black penguin in snowy field, "Shaka, the Virgo saint."

"…" Milo swallowed his food hastily.

"…So?"

"You must be kidding me!" Milo growled indignantly.

"Why?"

The Scorpio saint knew sometimes Camus can be so insensitive about others, but seriously Camus was not this dense! "Can't you see that blond Indian is having a very bad mood since Golden Round ended? I don't know what's his problem is but maybe it have something to do with Pope allow none of us to leave sanctuary till next week, argh… who cares why he is irritated!" He groaned out loud, "I am not going anywhere near Shaka when he is like that! I am not suicidal!" He yelled as shaking his head frantically.

"Shaka won't kill anyone as long as he has no reason to do so." Camus replied calmly, "Last time Shaka snapped was after his mission went awry, I don't know what happened exactly on that mission of his but he blew up half of training area after that. No big… you know we sometimes blow up some random area when we can't control ourselves. "

"That's all?" Milo repeated incredulously, "Because you were off to Siberia to see your beloved penguin after that incident, you have no idea what happened after that!"

Camus chose to ignore Milo's penguin comment, and seriously he and penguin's joke was getting old, "Enlighten me then…"

Milo huffed, "Shaka was having bad mood like now, no one dare to be anywhere near him because he looked ready to explode… no one except Mu, Aiolia only dared to be in two meters radius... he needed three days till he recover from his wrath." He informed.

"He can't be that scary… and please… if there is anyone we can ask about circle of reincarnation, it would be Shaka." Camus said as stood up calmly then began to walk toward temple's entrance.

Milo groaned, when Camus was curious no one could stop him to seek the answer. "Don't blame me later Camus, I warned you!" He yelled as began to follow his friend closely.

* * *

Milo and Camus was Athena's saint so something unusual bound to happen in their life, they didn't flip even when DeathMask celebrated grand opening of his death mask gallery. But still the sight of Aiolia who was known for his brashness and would never back out of any fight sitting on stairs to Virgo as if he was nailed there was kind of weird even by their standard.

Milo was the first one who found his voice to call the Leo saint, "Aiolia… what are you doing here? I thought you walked pass my temple one hour ago to go back to your temple?"

Aiolia flinched at that, "Well… I… don't think I am brave enough to walk pass Temple of Maiden now…"

"…"

"…"

"Tell me you are kidding Aiolia…" Milo asked him. "You are no coward…"

Aiolia rolled his eyes, "I am no coward but not suicidal either…"

"This comes from the most stubborn saint who didn't know what give up means?" The Scorpio saint reminded him.

The Leo saint scowled then grumbled, "Shaka is playing that thing now… and I am not going in there till he stop!"

Camus raised an eyebrow, "What thing?"

Aiolia sighed before he stood up then asked them to follow him to walk down the stairs. Aiolia walked away without waiting an answer, Milo looked at Camus, asking if it was right to follow the Leo saint, Camus just shrugged before walking down followed by his Scorpio friend. Aiolia stopped when they were around few feet from Virgo's back entrance, Milo and Camus blinked in confusion at Aiolia's abrupt stop as if he almost stepped on a bomb. But they paid no mind to his behavior when their ears perked up at the sweet sound that filled the air coming from Temple of Maiden. Camus closed his eyes as he tried to perceive the instrument that emitted such a mystical sound, was it sitar?

Milo looked at Aiolia, "So… can you please tell what's with this music that related to you don't dare to walk pass Shaka's temple, don't tell me Shaka use this as siren or something."

Aiolia groaned, "Milo… it's not siren! If you are so curious… go take a look by yourself but I advise you to not go anywhere near five meters around Shaka!" He warned, "You know in last year he was like this, he snapped like… argh whatever! I am not moving from here!"

"Camus!" Milo called when saw his friend walked pass and entered the temple, "Wait for me!"

* * *

Milo began to think that coming anywhere near their Virgo friend was a very bad idea indeed, as he and Camus walked deeper inside the temple. Aiolia despite what he said was following them but quite far behind. Camus in the other hand seemed enjoy Shaka's music, he rarely spend time with his fellow gold saints except Milo, he never knew Shaka was a talented musician. When Shaka came to their field of vision Aiolia without a word grabbed both of them then hid behind the nearest column. Camus and Milo gave Aiolia annoyed look but quickly turned their attention back to Shaka. The Virgo saint was sitting on his lotus but not floating like usual, Shaka was holding an instrument that had box like shape, roughly around two feet long and around half a foot wide, it had numerous thin strings and three thicker one. It was made of wood and had contrast color, dark brown and white. Milo stared at the instrument, Shaka was holding the said instrument like a cello even though it was nowhere as big as cello.

"So…" Camus began, "Can you please tell me what's so special about this music except how nice it sounds?" He asked incredulously

Milo nodded in agreement, "Don't tell me that Shaka have an idea of developing technique with instrument like Lyre saint…"

Aiolia shook his head, "No he is not! And as far as I know stupid scorpion, you didn't come anywhere near Shaka the last time he was pissed like this, so you don't know!"

"Yes… Milo admitted, "But still tell me what make you run away when Shaka play that thing."

"He is angry… very if I might add!" Aiolia said as shuddered, "I want to go home but… seriously I have to walk pass Shaka? No way!"

Camus chose that moment to talk "Isn't that sārangī?"

Milo and Aiolia blinked, "What is sārangī you are talking about, Camus?" Milo asked.

Camus sighed, "Indian music instrument, said to be notoriously difficult to play and tune." He explained smoothly, "Shaka sure is good."

"Ooh…" Milo oh-ed comically, "But tell me Aiolia, what's so scary about it?"

Aiolia rubbed his sore forehead, " What do you think about the song he plays?"

"…"

"Sounds nice and calming." Milo remarked, "So? What's so bad about this relaxing music?" Camus nodded in agreement.

Aiolia stared at them as if they had grew second head, "Do you have any idea who Shaka is trying to calm down?"

"…"

"… Anyone who hear it? Is it one of mission Buddha told him to do or something?" Milo guessed in joking tone.

Aiolia shook his head, "No you idiot! Shaka is trying to calm himself down!"

"…"

"…"

"Did I suppose to laugh?" Milo asked.

"That's a joke?" Camus added.

Aiolia sighed, "You have no idea how serious I am."

*Twang*

All of them snapped out of their conversation when the sound of plucked string echoed on the temple, their eyes darted at Shaka who seemed to freeze on the mid of playing. Aiolia became worried, soon his previous fear was forgotten and he approached Shaka slowly followed by Camus and Milo.

Aiolia gulped then summoned all courage he had, "Shaka…" He called nervously, "Is everything alright?"

"…" Shaka didn't answer instead he opened ornamented box beside him, taking a white thick string to replace the broken one. But much to his annoyance when he stretch the string from one end to another it twanged, there was a brief silence when Shaka as if need time to process that he had just broke another string before he took another one from the box.

Milo gulped nervously, "Camus… is he alright?" Milo asked as Shaka once again unsuccessfully replacing the string and it broke with a twang.

"… I hope so." Camus replied, another twanged string. "But I guess not…"

After he finished replacing the string Shaka took out the tuner from the same box then began to retune his instrument, "So… do you want talk to me?"

"Yes!" Milo replied but hastily corrected himself when he thought of Shaka's mood which in no condition for a conversation. "I mean no! Not really! We will off to our way back to our temple… bye and have a nice day!"

Camus cut Milo in, "There is something I need to ask you, Shaka…"

"Ah…what is it then?" Shaka asked calmly, his right hand skillfully tuning the sārangī.

"Camus!" Milo hissed.

Aiolia came closer to Shaka, on his mind confusion mixed with concern. "Shaka… it's alright if you don't want to talk or see anyone now… don't force yourself."

Shaka turned his closed eyes to Aiolia, "I am not forcing myself Aiolia, I admit my mood is not good however it's not like I will snap like last year." He reminded Aiolia, which made the Leo saint wincing. "Beside… if Camus _need _to ask something from me…" Shaka trailed off, "I can't take it lightly… can I?" then the Indian saint stood up slowly with his sārangī on his arms, "Follow me… it would be more comfortable to talk in my living room."

Aiolia sighed as he followed Shaka with Camus and Milo in tow, the room they entered next was as big as their living room but very different in interior. Even though all of them had different homeland the interior of their private room usually was not really different and barely touched by their culture, but Shaka's living room was as if like entering different part of the world as Indian touch in the interior clearly visible. The color that dominated the room was gold, dark brown with little red, the atmosphere created by the color mirroring the color of sunset. Milo and Camus can't help but held their breath when unfamiliar scent suddenly invaded their nostrils, they sometimes picked up the same scent faintly from Shaka but the room was strongly scented by incense which made them felt uncomfortable.

Shaka chuckled when he noticed Milo's wrinkled nose and slight frown on Camus' face, "Ah… I am sorry, this is the first time you visit my private area, right?" At their nod Shaka assured them with serene voice. "The scent of sandalwood in my rooms is strong for your sense at first but you will get use to it soon." Then he carefully put his sārangī back to the long box that made of mahogany wood.

Aiolia shook his head, "Nah… they won't get use to it anytime soon Shaka." He muttered in playful tone, "The first time I came here I pinched my nose and breath through my mouth! And I am not get use to it for months!"

"Because you didn't try to enjoy this pleasant smell…" Shaka replied calmly as he sat in lotus position on one of decorated cushion that stationed on the carpeted floor, "Make yourself comfortable…" he said as inclined his head to cushions pile on the room.

Camus and Milo nodded as they followed Shaka example to sit on the cushion but not in lotus position, Aiolia in the other hand sat on the carpet in lotus position as hugging smaller cushion. Camus was fascinated by the interior before Shaka cleared his throat to call attention. "So… what do you need from me Camus?" Shaka asked as thin smiles formed on his lips, "What I might know that you don't… I wonder…"

Camus chuckled softly, "Oh please Shaka… you at least are as knowledgeable as I am, but…" He trailed off, "Your background provide some peculiar information that even I can't get from any books and scrolls... such as reincarnation."

The ice saint had calculating look on his eyes, which amused Shaka at some degree, maybe for Camus; Shaka had become a fascinating existence, as he was someone who called as Buddha's reincarnation and closest man to God. "Well… is this about Pegasus that you want to know Camus?" And with Pegasus came to their life, a very suitable topic to quench the genius' saint curiosity.

"Exactly… who else understand about reincarnation and karma more than you do Shaka?" Camus asked back, in the other side Milo and Aiolia stared at them as if they had entered some alien world, quietly they looked at each other, confirming the other was as lost. And god knew they wouldn't be able to follow such abstruse topic, on their mind they wondered why they came here again? Listening to Camus and Shaka debating topic they barely knew was simply not a genius idea to spend their morning.

But Milo being Milo can't help but chimed in, "Karma? I though we only will talk about reincarnation?"

Aiolia cringes at the word 'we' because he was sure it was them _not_ us who wanted to talk about this recondite topic few seconds ago. "We?" He repeated incredulously.

Camus wondered why Milo bothered to intrude just because he was curious, seriously… this kind of topic would just bore Milo to death. But much to Camus' amusement Shaka replied him not Milo, as it seemed the Virgo saint could read his thought. "So you also notice this peculiar point Camus…" Shaka muttered softly.

The ice saint chuckled, "Peculiar is not the word I would choose… but anyway I also think something is off, and left unsaid about Pegasus." Camus said as his eyes narrowed. Milo and Aiolia looked at each other and then glared at the ice saint with demanding eyes that said 'what the hell is going on here. Camus and Shaka can't help but ignored them, as they will explain it soon anyway.

Shaka sighed, then began to explain with serene voice. "Karma is a Sanskrit word from the root Kri to do or to make and simply means action. It operates in the universe as the continuous chain reaction of cause and effect." He paused, "It is not only confined to causation in the physical sense but also it has moral implications. A good cause, a good effect; a bad cause a bad effect" is a common saying. In this sense karma is a moral law"

Milo rolled his eyes, "Sounds like a good old saying, don't do be naughty child or you will be send to hell but good child so you will go to heaven…" He grunted. "But still can't see how it's relevant to Pegasus…" Aiolia nodded in agreement.

Camus and Shaka sighed in the same time, "That Pegasus saint…" Camus began, "Tell me Milo… why he titled as great sinner of heaven?"

"Because he dared to fight against god." He answered, "And also because he also titled as God Slayer he might have kill a deity at one point in the past."

Shaka amusedly continued Milo's sentence, "And despite all that, he managed to get away from any punishment for this sin, something that even titan can't get away from…"

"But a mere human like Pegasus managed not only get away from punishment but reincarnated many times every two and half centuries…" Camus finished as his eyes narrowed, "So… Shaka what do you think?"

The Virgo saint titled his head a little, "Well Camus… this is what have bothering me for a while since I heard it but… reincarnation is not as simple as being reborn as someone or something else… and in Pegasus' case…" He trailed off tiredly, "I even can't tell if he was reborn as someone else… as he is still the Pegasus saint, and this happened to him not even once… Athena and Hades are deities so it's possible but human? The fact he is just a human make the whole story of his legend sounds like fate played a sick joke."

Aiolia sweated cold a little at Shaka's words, he raised an eyebrow. "But after met him personally as a baby that appeared from nowhere like our goddess… " He trailed off, "Well Shaka… everything you said that happened to Pegasus is just either too good to be true or the opposite."

"To be honest I hardly believe it…" Shaka muttered calmly. "So I say… I won't involve myself in this till I know the truth."

Milo and Aiolia gasped, "Are you nuts Shaka?" Aiolia asked incredulously, "It's our Pope's order! Are you telling me you don't believe anything he said about Pegasus?"

Shaka shrugged, "Well… how you expect me to? At one point the story sounds plausible because it's the survivor of the last holy war who told us but…" His lips curved up to a thin smile, "I can never be so sure when it comes to truth…"

When Milo and Aiolia looked ready to throw reasoning Camus calmly asked Shaka, "I am understand what you mean Shaka… in the other hand though… we as gold saint to oppose our superior is..."

Shaka chuckled, "It's not like I will go barging in to throne room and demand the truth nor I will run away from the order…."

Camus' lips twitched to amused smirk, "Well… well… what will you do Shaka? Mind to let me know?"

Milo groaned, when Camus' curiosity got the best of him sometimes he didn't know where to stop! And here Shaka seemed to have the same tendency, "You two… whatever you have in mind I hope it's not dangerous or might get yourself in trouble." He warned.

"Well…" Shaka began, "Let's say I only need to sneak a little here and there…"

* * *

**2 days later, 11 PM**

Shaka almost laughed at how lousy their security was, but then again no one can blame those foot soldiers to be so incompetent. Who will be in high alert when no one ever passed through 12 temples that guarded by Gold saints? Hence this was why Aiolos could pass through so easily, but on his case it was slightly difficult due to Aiolos' incident snapped the pawns to alert a little. But he of all Gold saints was skilled in hiding his cosmos, he doubted even the Pope would notice him. Not to mention his comrades help this little infiltration mission, Milo despite arguing over this mission because it was risky in the end helped to borrow the key of Pegasus' nursery from the maid, off course borrowed without telling the owner. Surprisingly they can get Aphrodite to cooperate helping Shaka passed through his temple and rose garden in exchange of telling him everything later.

As he carefully inserted the key in and turned it open he wondered if this kind of conspiracy among gold saints would ever happened without Pegasus being there. Shaka never imagined the day Aphrodite agreed to help them for something like this, which can get him into a big trouble. But all gold saints were involved except Shura, even DeathMask helped somehow. Shura was excluded because there was simply no way in Athena's name he would agree. So DeathMask and Aldebaran were the one in charge of distracting Shura, the method was… not really sneaky. This morning DeathMask challenged Shura in a spar, which the winner would be decided by who fainted first, and Aldebaran was the referee. Shura was the winner according to the rule, but after DeathMask fainted Shura also fainted three seconds later. And tonight both were sleeping covered with bruises and cuts in healer's hut, Shaka knew that DeathMask probably only intended to get his revenge on Shura for unfinished argument in Golden Round.

But in the end everyone demanded to know what he can get out of Pegasus' soul, he opened the door carefully the closed in with soft thud. Shaka looked around the room, which painted white combined with red curtain and wooden furniture, and in the centre of the room was a wooden crib that similar with one that used by Athena. Shaka walked stealthily to the crib because he didn't want to wake the baby up, and the babysitter namely Mrs. Diana was sleeping on the bedroom just beside Pegasus' room.

After Shaka was right beside the crib he looked at the baby, his skin was tanned like Aiolos' and that curly brown hair also make him kind of looked like Aiolia's little brother if he ever had one. Shaka's hand gracefully formed mudra as his lips whispered "Khan…" then golden barrier erected around him. Shaka sighed in relieve as he can safely get his cosmos hidden but able to use it freely inside the barrier. "Well then…" He trailed off as his right hand hovered above Tenma's forehead in golden light, "Let's see who you are… Pegasus…"

* * *

Shaka was taken back when he saw complete darkness when he entered Pegasus' soul, but soon the scenery changed as darkness broke to pieces and he was not stepping on the ground. Shaka opened his eyes to make sure, he never doubted his inner sight but he wanted to see what happened just now. He was floating in the air was no big deal as he was usually floating when meditation anyway. But the sky he was floating in wasn't normal sky he knew. They were hundreds and thousands of angels in the sky, frozen in their place like a statue.

Shaka gasped at the sight, "What… is this?" He flew closer to one of the angel, examining it carefully then turned to flew farther away to get bigger picture of the sky. "This is… painting? The sky looks like a giant canvas painted with heavenly beings!" Then his eyes widened in realization, "Don't tell me… is this the legendary 'Lost Canvas' from the last holy war?"

When you was high up there don't look down for your adrenaline sake, but Shaka was not someone who would need such warning as he quickly looked down to find sanctuary was right below him. "Where am I actually?" He wondered out loud then slapped his forehead, "Oh right… inside Pegasus… but where I can find more clue about him?" He said as looked around him, "At the very least judging from what I see… he is not a mere human."

Shaka once again approached one of the angel, "But… such a fine works… if I don't know how Lost Canvas looked like from our record… I would never think this is a painting…" He said as frowned a little. "The last vessel of Hades really was a great artist…" He commented with a voice that laced with irony.

"**Alone would be happy to hear that…"**

Shaka froze on his track, his eyes glued to angel in front of his eyes. The voice behind him was definitely not an illusion, but it was hard to believe someone was also there and might had been watching him for a long time. Shaka summoned all courage he had to look back and he found celestial creature that only had been told in mythology. The winged horse, Pegasus.

The Virgo saint's eyes widened in disbelief as towering figure before him seemed to become more and more intimidating. Shaka was not small for his age after he had been through harsh training, but Pegasus was nowhere near the size of normal horse. Pegasus was taller and bigger than normal horse with deep gold mane that reached all the way to its torso; his regal wings made the steed appeared more intimidating.

Shaka was sorely tempted to ask who are you, but dismissed the thought as it would become the stupidest question he ever ask in his life. Asking who are you to a winged horse was simply dumb for him. And he had no idea how to start a conversation with a horse, but fortunately Pegasus started the conversation first, **"That armor… you are Virgo saint in this era?" **He asked calmly.

Shaka tried to calm himself down, he after all was just one step from the truth. Whatever this creature really was it didn't matter, it could speak so it can answer his question. "I am… my apologize to intrude your astral world Pegasus… however I need to…"

Much to the Virgo saint's surprise Pegasus laughed and cut him in the process, **"Let me guess… you want to find the truth?" **He asked with mirth clearly painted on his voice.

Shaka's eyes can't possibly become wider that it already was, as he stammered. "How? How… do you know?"

Pegasus closed his eyes briefly as flew closer to Shaka slowly; the young Indian almost took a step back but stopped. Blue meet Gold as their eyes met, **"What's your name Virgo saint?"**

The young Indian answered with calm voice, "Shaka."

"**Well then Shaka…" **Pegasus began, **"Tell me… what truth you seek from me to the point you dare to intrude my soul?"**

Review Please! ^^/

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**Before someone yell at me about this ability of diving on someone's mind/soul is not canon... one way or another Shaka suppose to be capable of this =_=/ uhm... if you ask from where this is what Buddha (from manga Buddha by Ozamu Tezuka) did to help solving some people trouble down from cursed, poisoned then possessed. I don't know how it's done in real Buddha's biography though =_=;as what Shaka saw... just imagine lost canvas scene with sanctuary after Alone's little visit, it's in the morning for why Shaka is angry... well there IS a reason but it's in the next chapter...  
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**About gold saint's conspiracy... it's just they are having major crisis of trust, and something needed to bond them again or else they will fall apart like in original series. It's more obvious in anime with how Milo, Shaka, Aiolia behave with each other in Pope's room. Let's say they don't hate each other but the tension is there plus all of them have different belief and what else going among them. Beside... I don't think they will just nod like a good boy when Tenma was shoved in front of them as legendary god slayer and they have to take care of him. It's just not... plausible for me to happen easily... as for this conspiracy, I am sure all of them can be tempted to do this especially SHaka promised to tell of them what he get and Shaka didn't get his title for nothing. And DM have good reason to cooperate ^^ Alde is because Shaka is his friend and Aphro... he is just doing it for amusement I guess...And how Shaka can sneak in... it's just like how he surprise Specter in episode 8 of Hades arc, he hid inside his barrier... easy.  
**

**One more chapter done! ^^ I am so slow but the next chapter I am sure I can bring baby Shun and little Ikki in the story XDDD I don't know when their incident with Pandora happened but for plot sake I assume it's after Aiolos' incident, but I will skip what happened with Pandora with Amamiya brothers, nothing different can happen anyway... Oh Shuuuuuny! XDDD Ikki is not so cute though... =_+' I only like to mess with Ikki not liking him ha ha ha XD  
**

* * *

**I don't hate DM or Aphro... I love all saints actually but maybe I don't really care to silver fellow except Orphee and Marin,I also not really like Shiryu... and Hyoga. I don't hate or dislike them but it's just... they are kind of plain to me in term of character and what else. But DM is despicable now is... just how he is in my opinion before Hades arc I hope I can found spot soon to put Shun on the story... btw no pun intended ^^;

* * *

**

**omake 1, (when Tenma's name announced)**

More question mark were floating around the gold saint's head, as before they figured out where the baby came from, the name brought more question. Tenma for them who raised in their own country and Greece was not a common name. Then they looked at Shaka as if he had grew second head, the Virgo saint shook his head, "It have nothing to do with me, Tenma in Tenma Kofuku and his name is different!"

Saga sighed, "This baby's name is Tenma but I assure you that... it's meaning is not related to Shaka's technique."

Milo opened his mouth in big O, "Oh… I though Shaka is reproduced!" He laughed but soon shut his mouth up when he saw Shaka was smiling at him with his hand was ready to form a mudra. "It's just a lame joke… how silly of me."

"So... who is the mother Shaka?" DeathMask asked, "And your choice of name is so lame!"

"DIE!"

and the meeting failed because golden hall explode ;P

* * *

**omake 2, (Reincarnation)**

Saga sighed in relieve as if they didn't believe this legend he can't have a logical reason to keep Tenma in sanctuary, "Well… then let me introduce you again… this baby is Pegasus Tenma… reincarnation of previous Pegasus saint."

"…"

"…"

All eyes landed on Shaka, "I am not involved… and I am sure this is not a lie." He grumbled begrudgingly. "Why whenever reincarnating is concerned it's always me who get the blame?"

"You are Buddha's reincarnation..." Milo reminded him, "And you always talking about reincarnation mumbo jumbo that only Mu can understand in your alien language."

SHaka groaned, "That's not mumbo jumbo! But principle of birth and reincarnation in Buddhism!" he pointed out angrily, "And I speak in Hindi when I was talking to Mu not alien language!"

"You sure? I though you are sending weird signal with your dot to Mu's dots and chanting weird mantra!" Milo continued.

"Milo..." Camus warned.

Shaka was smoking literally then here it come another death threat, "DIE!"

And Golden hall explode... and the meeting is failed as everyone got caught in explosion ;p

owari~


	3. Reminisce of Bloody Canvas

**I know I update late than usual but this chapter is also longer because I want baby stage to be done and on to their story when they were 7 in the next chap. This chap consist around 20.000 words which the longest I EVER write! It's worth 2 chapter actually! I am sure you notice there is a lot of Shaka in this fic, but his background really make him very convenient for me to use… ^^ and if I can add third main character in this fic it would be Shaka. I also want to point our more of childish side of gold saints; none of them are older than ten anyway. Their maturity mostly is a front because they are high up there, and they lead many peoples who are older than they are. But still once in a while they should slip… **

**PS: Please point any plot hole you think exist, or other concerning the plot… review that only urging me for update didn't help me the slightest. **

**All myth of Greek or other country I use didn't follow the real one 100% for the sake of plot, and I tend to simplify some of it… I can follow closely if I want but I will bore you… my dear readers to death :p ****Some word missing is common problem when uploading, usually I can check but this chap is too long for me to check everything =_= so please ignore it.  
****

* * *

**

**Trivia and Spoiler of Lost Canvas**

_Age of gold saint you think is not make sense actually make sense in kurumada's universe, they suppose to be that young. According to Shion... the younger you are the easier to tap seventh sense. But in LC and then ND respectively... it's hinted the gold saint of 18th century granted gold status older than present gold saint. I don't know how old ND's gold saint, they seems older but who can trust Kurumada's drawing about this? In ND Shion and Dohko become Gold saint when they were 18 years old, and in Lost Canvas Dohko and SHion first appear as Gold saint when they were 16 but assumed they granted gold status when they are younger. And according to OFFICIAL info from Tenshirogi, Leo Regulus is the youngest gold saint by the age of 15 and confirmed granted gold status by 12-13, then Dohko and Shion (18) and after them it's Asmita who was 21 yrs old when he died. The rest is older... Albafica is 23 if I remember correctly -.-' And surprise! The oldest one in LD is Sishypus! He is 29! And the twin is 27-28? yeah... funny ha ha ha because in SS Gemini is the oldest XD _

**BTW I just read latest chap of LC XDDD in youtube even though I can't understand the language at all... but pretty much saying how screwed Tenma is and... yeah, now my reason to state he will be crazy if his memory mixed is pretty much TRUE even by canon in LC. I will not spoil what happen in latest chap but pretty much tell Tenma have every right to snap any time... POOR HIM...  
**

**Alone: name previous Hades' vessel**

**Sasha: Name of previous Athena

* * *

**

**Reminisce of Bloody Canvas, and long lost promise...

* * *

**

If someone handed you a prize on silver platter don't take it for granted thoughtlessly. Granted the advice used 'someone' which not including Pegasus, which was an animal. Was it really safe to jump to this chance recklessly? In the other hand what the worse might happen anyway? Oh yes, anything can happen.  
Tenma almost wanted to laugh at the sight of mini Asmita that even though trying as hard as he could to not show his confusion, this young Virgo had not become a master yet. That blue orbs perfectly reflecting his confusion and undoubtedly was wondering if Pegasus was pulling his leg for so blatantly offering what he wanted.

Pegasus shook his head, **"I assure you that… I have no hidden motive." **Shaka's widened eyes was very amusing, the boy surely never got exposed like this when it comes to his thought. Definitely Asmita's reincarnation alright, **"And please… what can I gain from deceiving you anyway?"**

Shaka was fighting urge to flee, because in few minutes he stood before Pegasus he had lost all control of situation. He was a keen observer and had proper grasp of human nature, he always was the one who see but never one to be seen. But celestial being before him turned the table even before they start, and for the first time he felt fear. Afraid of unknown territory he was in, something that not within his reach. He heard the celestial horse sighed before began to talk again, **"Well… this form is not comfortable for conversation huh…" **Pegasus commented as looking at his body, **"Then how about this…" **Shaka's eyes widened when Pegasus wrapped himself within his wings then when the cocoon of wings opened a human boy around fifteen years old appeared instead of a horse, an older image of baby he saw on the crib. The boy had tanned skin with spiky brown hair, his brown eyes shone with determination. He wore standard sleeveless shirt and pants saints usually wore underneath their cloth in red color.

"Hi there!" He chimed cheerfully with toothy grin.

Shaka blinked before regaining his composure, "You become a human?" He stated the obvious.

What Virgo saint earned from his statement was booming laugh, "Ha ha ha… you are so funny Shaka, I **am **a human…"

The young Indian was ticked at the funny comment, no one ever said he was funny. He was a saint _not _a comedian! "I am not funny!" He objected with annoyance on his voice, he looked up at Tenma trying to be intimidating without much success due to big gap in height. "And you suppose to be a baby…" He grunted. "And you took form of a Pegasus when you appear for what?"

Tenma was not sure the idea of reincarnating in sanctuary was a good idea and now he was sure _it was not but genius idea_ on his part! Saying he had no grudge against Asmita (for what Asmita did in underworld when he was in emergency aka dying) was understatement, at the very least he still think Asmita was inconsiderate, arrogant, and sneaky bastard. And here he could see mini version of Asmita in front of him, annoyed at him beyond words. Mini Asmita's annoyed face was just priceless, Tenma thought gleefully. As the previous one's face only ranged from stoic to smug. How he hated the latter expression…

"Well… my physical body is indeed a baby, and to answer your question… my soul is a bit peculiar." He explained in lofty tone, just like how Shion explained cosmos theory to him, he slept through half of it though. Shion was quite furious that time, he swore the ex- Aries Saint had grew horn on his head.

Shaka was not convinced at half-baked answer like that; peculiar was understatement. So he raised an eyebrow as answered back, "Such shallow answer is not what I seek…" And that earned him another round of laugh, Tenma just can't help it when he heard Shaka repeated what Asmita said in the past. "You…" He growled impatiently, "You... are sick of living?" Shaka threatened.

Tenma wiped away tears from his eyes, result of long good laugh. "Maybe… if you try counting how many years I lived since the age of myth, maybe I am a bit sick of it." He admitted jokingly, suddenly he paled at the sight of young Virgo who was red with anger. As usual Virgo was not a type that can take joke kindly, "Anyway Shaka, what's your question again? No more joke! Promise!" Tenma stammered, Tenma had learned it hard way when the last time a Virgo saint can't get his way, get kicked to blood river ranked quite high as the nastiest time he ever had. It's stinking like hell, well… Acheron was hell.

"So…" Shaka began as mentally counting from 1 to 10 to calm down, which he thought not really effective. "I want to ask who are you really? A human? Or what?"

Tenma smiled before answered serenely, "I am a human as far as I know Shaka… what make you think otherwise?"

Shaka frowned at that, "How about a human soul usually didn't take form of celestial being like Pegasus?"

The Pegasus saint tensed at that then smiled sadly, instead of answering he sat down, "Well… there is no ground here but you can sit however you like." He informed then sat as if there was a chair, his feet were dangling like a children on a swing. Shaka hesitantly followed his example but sat in lotus position. Carefully he looked at Tenma, wondering if he had said something wrong and not supposed to be asked. "As for why my soul took form of a Pegasus, well… someone also said the same when they saw my soul… but I really don't know why my soul looks like a Pegasus." He stated absentmindedly, "Is it matter?"

Shaka let the answer sank on his mind as his eyes closed briefly, "You being peculiar is understatement…" He pointed out, "However what I really want to know is… the truth in what Holy Father told us."

Tenma narrowed his eyes, "So… gold saints are doubting the pope?" He asked in amused voice, "That was unheard of before in previous eras… but in the other hand…" He commented dryly, "It's good to know you won't trust blindly…"

"Only fools who will take everything for granted." Shaka replied, "However… no matter what the reason Holy Father is our superior, there should not be any reason for us as subordinate to not trust him. Well… that's how it suppose to be done…"

Tenma 's eyes narrowed at that, "It is… by the way from what I heard it's mostly you who don't believe our Pope, did you?" He asked in amused tone, "But it's fine… everyone is free to have their own belief."

The bridge of his nose wrinkled as the words sank in, "Aren't you horrified I might disobey Athena one way or another later? Unlike my comrades…" Shaka trailed off as his mind wandered to Mu, Aldebaran, Aiolia, Shura… and gold saints who idolized Athena. "I… am not like other saints." He finished bitterly; the Indian saint was well aware how different his belief was compared to his comrades. Saint supposed to dedicate their life for Athena and earth, but he won't and couldn't be like everyone else. He couldn't trust Athena with all his heart nor his loyalty belongs to her, not yet… until Athena proved herself worthy of his pledge. His darkest secret, that he was never a true saint… he was different.

"So what?"

Shaka snapped out of his though, just to find Tenma with the most innocent face he ever saw and shocking statement. "It's okay for you to be different… that you don't believe in Sasha just because she was Athena, it's not wrong." Tenma stated with a grin on his lips.

The Virgo saint wrinkled his nose in disdain, "And here I thought you are the legendary saint who pledged yourself to her even beyond death, that you reincarnated again and again to protect her… "

Tenma chuckled softly, "I did?" Shaka raised an eyebrow at that, "If I did… I don't remember, sorry…" he admitted sheepishly, "But if I want to be by her side forever I don't need pledge… all I need is I want to be by her side. To be her trusted companion to protect earth… that all in it." He said with content smile. "And I proud all saints were willing to be by our side… to protect our home together!"

Confused was not the word Shaka would choose to describe what he felt by now, if anything he was curious and amused in such an ironic way about Tenma. "That's a double standard to you… you are okay with me being a saint even though I have not pledged myself to Athena but… you don't need pledge and…"

"You make it sounds so complicated… and I don't think anything I have done is really that great… what a saint would and should…" He rubbed the back of his head confusedly.

Shaka groaned, "There you have a double standard! Do you have any idea how great you are that you called Great Sinner of Heaven? Which part of it is not great Pegasus?" and foolish Shaka added silently, to bet his soul to Gods like that.

Tenma wrinkled his nose, "I am completely fine having double standard when I am better of with double!" he reasoned, "And great sinner or whatever slayer… who cares? As far as what I remember, I never call myself like that nor proud of that!"

"You are impossible!" Shaka was having a headache, he never found someone so… so… stubborn and confusing! Tenma was simply simple yet unpredictable, at first glance he looked like a predictable persona you can read like an open book but no, he was not. "How could you go through those holy wars with this kind of attitude?"

"Who cares?" He shrugged, and then repeated what he in the past telling to Asmita. "I only care about living my life for those important for me… "

"…"

"You asked who am I? What am I? My past as sinner of heaven… a saint who served Athena since age of myth…? It never matter to me as long as… I can protect what I want to protect…" He muttered with a smile, and then chuckled softly. "I am just that simple As… ah…" How he forgot that this little blond Indian was not Asmita, he was Shaka of Virgo. He regretted that till the end he never be able to tell that guy how thankful he was for Asmita's sacrifice. "Shaka, not everyone was as complicated as you think." He added cheerfully.

Shaka turned his back on Tenma, muttering tiredly. "So it's seems I came here for nothing but naught." He said as began to walk away, disappointment painted clearly on his face.

"Shaka!" Tenma called, but the Indian saint kept walking. "Thank you!"

That got his attention turned to Tenma, one of his eyebrow raised in confusion. "What for?" Shaka asked haughtily, slightly irritated at the fact he had no idea of what Tenma was talking about.

Tenma smiled at that, "For being a saint of Athena off course!"

"…"

"Thanks a lot!" Tenma repeated.

"Do you have to thank me for that?" Shaka asked tonelessly.

He grinned, "You don't believe in Athena but you still on our side for the sake of justice, in fact…" He trailed off, "Everyone deserve gratitude just for being a saint." That's not exactly a lie, he really though that right. But actually he thanked Asmita for his sacrifice in the past that would forever help them in war against Hades, and… also…

"As expected…" Shaka sighed, "A man who dared to fight against Gods is really a fool…" He muttered in amused tone as his body faded slowly from the realm of soul, a satisfied smile painted on his lips.

Tenma laughed at that, "You bet… but then again I am Athena's fool. All of us are fools who wants nothing but protecting our beloved one…" He muttered to nothingness.

What are you? Who are you?

"I am sorry I can't and won't answer that… " Tenma muttered as crouched down, as he hugged himself tightly. Tears began to fall from his brown eyes, wavering from brown to gold. "That I am… just a pitiful soul who bound with one everlasting fate…"

…

…

"Alone… Hades… Sasha… my Goddess Athena…."

* * *

**Next day (9PM) Virgo's Temple **

Jiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Shaka hoped his friends would stop doing that, staring at him won't help. Currently he held a little secret meeting for gold saints excluding Capricorn Shura in his temple or precisely his private living room, and just last night he sneaked in Pegasus' nursery with many little helps from left and right. All of gold saints excluding Aiolia raised an eyebrow, narrowing eyes, frowned and what else that showing they were disturbingly shocked at Shaka's invitation to his private area. Something Shaka never did to other saints who was not his close friends, only Mu and Aiolia ever granted that privilege especially Shaka was very protective of his personal space. Maybe sun will rise from west tomorrow?

Shaka sighed; wondering if tonight meeting would end well without a fuss. Shaka was thinking of how he to rephrase what he found out last night, it won't do if he just outright telling them what's on his mind about Pegasus. _'Well guys… it seems the God slayer was a dumb brat with heroic tendency.' _Or this, '_and he won against God was likely a dumb luck or how me and Camus phrase it, fate is playing sick joke.'_ Or worse, _'That Tenma don't care about almost everything such as his titles or heroic exploit in the past, hell… he is so naïve and his wish is to protect everything he loves.' _ The latter would make his fellow saints, excluding Aiolia and Aldebaran to cringe.

DeathMask undoubtedly would vomit out of disgust, Aphrodite will raise an eyebrow and comment how the hell they gonna follow such a callow saint who saw the world with glasses full of sparkles and heart sticker, Camus will frown as listing something that can make sense for him unsuccessfully, Milo would yell and accusing him for sick joke. Oh why he had to deal with this?

And as expected, Shaka groaned when Milo and Aiolia demanded him to get this done quickly. "So Shaka… what do you find from diving into that baby? I don't get the theory of what you were dong but… who cares? Spit it out man!"

Shaka rubbed his sore head as began to narrate what he found inside Pegasus soul, "And yes Camus… inside his soul is perfect replica of The Lost Canvas from last holy war, yeah… it's quite a sight."

"So is it really like what Roushi wrote in our history book? Thousands of angels and celestial creature in the sky?" Camus asked again as exited as an Aquarius saint could be which earned him chuckles from the Virgo saint and snickering Milo, Camus blushed deep red when he realized how eager he sounded. Even the other started sending him amused look.

Shaka stopped chuckling to spare Camus from embarrassment, especially if Milo's face was any indication the Scorpio saint wouldn't let this down till next month. "Yes… it is, really like what Roushi wrote… it's a deadly art but beautiful nonetheless…"

Aphrodite twirled his red rose, thankfully the rose wouldn't poison anyone as long as Aphrodite's cosmos bind it to his will. "So The Lost Canvas was really like my demon royal rose… beautiful yet deadly." DeathMask rolled his eyes at that, gotta hand it to Aphrodite when it's about beauty. And all gold saints started laughing at Aphrodite, commenting how lame he sounded. "Why you!" He growled. Shaka can't help but feel how relax they were tonight, even DeathMask was laughing not in maniacal way, everyone for the first time in this week were relax, laughing and joking with each other. Maybe their future was not so gloomy after all.

"But I still don't understand why Pegasus' soul take after that scenery, I mean… that painting is not exactly his favorite scene for sure…" Camus commented trying to begin a discussion.

Shaka titled his head to Camus' direction, "Well Camus… I think all of us have to see it by ourselves." He said as his hands began to form a mudra. And before anyone could ask what he meant by that suddenly Shaka's room changed scenery to what he saw last night.

Camus couldn't hide his amazement; he after all was so fond of art and history. The Lost Canvas in some sense was the ultimate bloody art, if description in their history book that written by Libra Dohko himself was right, anything painted within the canvas by the last Hades' vessel will die. And somehow there was someone from sanctuary leaked out bits about the painting's bloody history, off course with leaving bit of mythology in it. Any artist and Art collector would kill to get their hands on any painting he left, fortunately two centuries ago Sanctuary managed to destroy all painting Alone had left including painting before he was possessed. It took three decades for sanctuary to track down all of Alone's paintings either legal one or from black market, because the boy sold quite a number of paintings for living. Ironically all paintings were sold cheaply because the boy was too naïve and had no idea of his painting's real value when he was young. It may be sounded paranoid for Shion and Dohko to put so much effort on this but actually the very reason was Alone still sell some of his paintings after he received the silver star necklace, and who knows which painting was painted around that time, and Alone never bother to put date on his paintings.

Shaka remembered Tenma had commented how delighted Alone would be when he praised the painting, "And the answer to your question Camus, I presume… he was related to previous vessel of Hades. I think his name is Alone…" Shaka answered softly, "And yes… if this is right, fate played sick joke on him."

"Alone? Pegasus called him that? Hades' vessel from the last holy war?" Camus asked again curiously.

"That's what Tenma called him…"

* * *

"Woaaaaa!" Milo looked around with childish wide eyes, "Gotta say when it comes to illusion no one can beat you Shaka!" And when his attention was drew downward, "What the hell Shaka! Why you didn't create a ground here? What's the deal? Wanna me die because of heart attack?" If only Milo knew the irony of his word regarded of his previous incarnation.

Shaka shrugged at that, "You should hand that complain to him." He said as pointed to direction behind Milo and other saints.

When they turned around they can't help but gasped, there was a Pegasus that appeared to be sleeping with one of its wing wrapped around a boy, he appeared to be older than they were around 14 to 15 years old, spiky brown hair and tanned skin. His eyes closed, sleeping peacefully with Pegasus' stomach as his pillow.

Aldebaran raised an eyebrow, "Err Shaka… so this is the boy and winged horse you met last night?"

"Yes." Was the short and final answer from how it sounded, Shaka won't elaborate.

"Is there any reason for that pose?" Aphrodite can't help but commented.

Shaka didn't answer that at all, "Never mind his pose…" Milo scratched his head, "What's with stupid face he got when sleeping? And mouth hanging open that wide? Invitation for fly?"

The Indian saint who craftily created the illusion, just for the sake of amusement "I just think that's how he looks when sleeping, pretty much what kind of impression I got from him.." Shaka answered.

"He is an idiot?" Aiolia helpfully translated.

"…Great, you can tell that again Aiolia…" Shaka muttered dryly.

Aiolia suddenly blushed deep red, "Shaka… did you use my sleeping face as reference?" He growled.

Camus looked at him as raised an eyebrow, "You don't want him to answer that, do you?" A groan was the answer he got from the Leo saint. "Anyway Shaka… please continue the discussion, whatever joke you put in your illusion…" He trailed off then hissed through clenched teeth when saw Milo and DeathMask curiously approaching the illusion of Pegasus and the sleeping boy. "Milo! Get back here!" Undoubtedly the duo was in for some mischief.

"You too DeathMask!" Aphrodite yelled as dragging DeathMask back by his mantle, sometimes the fair saint wondered why he and Camus had to bother with these troublemakers every single day, and somehow along the way if anything caused by DeathMask it would be him who was held to be responsible for not keeping an eye on the Italian saint. He could sympathize with Camus really, for having a troublemaker as your best friend was never a walk in the park, go figures.

'Why it always me…' Camus and Aphrodite though as dragged their friends back to the circle.

Shaka rolled his eyes beneath his eyelids, "Sorry if my little joke is not funny…" He grumbled and with a flick of his finger the illusion was erased. "Okay… let's move on, so what else you want to know Camus?"

The Aquarius saint looked up curiously, "Ah, yes… let' see… about reincarnation, did he aware of it?"

Milo narrowed his eyes at Camus, "Usually people didn't realize that, do they? I mean… like… I don't know if I have past life or anything like that, even if I have one." He muttered.

Aldebaran looked oddly at Milo, "Well… how about err… déjà vu?"

Shaka nodded, "That's how the system work Milo, you are right human wouldn't aware of it…" He agreed, and then added. "Usually… that's how and Aldebaran... déjà vu is not always because of our previous life, it's all in our brain as you might memorize something you aware of subconsciously."

Aiolia crossed his arms, "How reincarnation work for Gods anyway? I know Poseidon and Hades possessed a human so they are not exactly reincarnating, but our Goddess was born as a baby right?" He asked curiously.

"Even our goddess Athena didn't remember most of her memories as previous reincarnation according to our records… " Shaka pointed out, then continued. "However that's understandable if we consider how that would burden her mortal body. Athena… reincarnated as a mortal after all…"

"Are you implying the same case also happened to Pegasus?" Camus asked.

"More or less… but unlike Athena he never ever reincarnated the way Athena did before, he was born like other human does…" Shaka shrugged with a sigh, "If I want to guess… this might have interesting effect on him." The Virgo saint pointed out in amused tone.

Aphrodite smirked at that, "Oh… what is this interesting effect Shaka?"

DeathMask raised an eyebrow at Aphrodite's sudden curiosity. "What's so interesting?"

The Pisces saint rolled his eyes, why DeathMask couldn't see anything amusing can come from something else rather than slaughtering and bloodshed he loved so much? Aphrodite was always bored of his life, and his beauty just made it boring even more. He was always got everything for granted with his beauty, off course power as gold saint gained with harsh training like everyone else. But gold saint candidate started their training so early, some candidates like Shaka, ,Mu, Aiolia, Camus, Milo was trained since they can walk and talk. Aphrodite himself started the training when he was four years old, the earlier you trained meant easier to reach seventh sense. They still had their harsh training but compare to lower rank, they had more talent and after reached seventh sense it became easier to get stronger. How… boring… maybe that's why DeathMask loved blood, it thrilled and made him felt more alive. Aphrodite himself took little pleasure out of blood, instead he took it from the heat of battle with 'beautify' the said battle with rose, skill, elegance, euphoria. But it became harder to take pleasure from battle with how strong he had become and sadly fight between gold saints was off-limits, and he need something else to occupy him till holy war began. Maybe that's why Shaka was so fond of meditation, Camus loved his icy landscape in Siberia a bit too much, and Shura devoted himself in worshipping Athena more then other saints. Well… those were one who couldn't occupy themselves in common way, unlike Milo, Aiolia or Aldebaran who was as normal as children their age could be.

"Well…" Aphrodite trailed off, ignoring DeathMask's comment, "What might happen to present reincarnation of Pegasus? What do you think Shaka?"

Shaka's amused smile didn't go unnoticed by his peers, they might know him nowhere near Mu or Aiolia does. But that smile of his always meant they were on for something thrilling, "First… don't you guys think it's weird Pegasus never reincarnated in sanctuary even though he is capable of it?"

Camus looked thoughtful before nodded in agreement, "Well… think of how much advantage we can get if he did instead of waiting for fate to lead him back to sanctuary… " Then his eyes widened in realization, "Could it be?"

The Virgo saint can help but let a smirk formed on his lips, "Yes… he after all is still human even though he is capable of many things human couldn't." He muttered, "There is a possibility his memory would mess up a big time guys…"

"Mess up?" Aldebaran repeated, "Err… what might happen to the poor baby?"

Camus' eyes narrowed, "Simple… if before he had no recollection of his previous life at all… this time around he will have either all of it or partially only. But I think it would be the latter…" He concluded.

Shaka nodded in agreement, "Correct Camus… but I think that would not be the exact case." The Indian shook his head, "Seriously… whatever the reason he recklessly reincarnated himself here, Pegasus would subconsciously has some of his memories in him… he will not be aware but feels like he know something from somewhere he never knew like… continuous déjà vu."

Aiolia gulped, "And what's the problem Shaka… you are talking as if there is something wrong with it." He pointed out.

"Human grew with their life experience shaping their identity…" Shaka muttered softly, "Pegasus in the future might have identity crisis in case his memory overlapped with his previous life… not to mention if it happened when he was too young to accept it. "Shaka sighed wearily, "In the worse case… he might loosing his mind fast."

Milo stood up angrily, "What the hell? You are telling me he might grow up even screwier than DeathMask?" He paused, "Wouldn't we in trouble as we need this guy to win holy war?"

"That's possible." Shaka replied.

"HEI!" DeathMask roared when Aphrodite nodded in agreements.

Camus clapped his hands, "Alright… guys stop playing around." He commanded before Milo and DeathMask was on for another round of brawling. "Well… we have listened what Shaka knew about Pegasus, and what I want to know… what's your decision?" he muttered in lofty tone, "Will you go along with Holy Father's plan? Or will you pretend to go along just for the sake of not labeled as traitor?"

Milo was the first one who raised his hand, "I will go along with it… beside I don't see any reason why we shouldn't as long as we will not doing any babysitting."

Aldebaran was the next one who voiced his opinion, "I think Pegasus need all help he can get, and from what I heard… I think I like this little guy." He admitted with a smile.

Aiolia nodded in agreement, "Pegasus is one of us, I will go along…"

"Well… I want to see how it's going, I will pretend for the time being but… I might change my mind." The fair Pisces saint muttered in amused tone.

"Same here!" DeathMask added as raised his hand.

Camus looked skeptically at Shaka, "How about you Shaka? I will observe the situation for a while first." He said, "We after all will become Pope's advisor in the near future and become busier than our comrades, thus granted us privilege to not go along with this plan unscathed."

That gathered their attention to Shaka and Camus who stayed still as holding their gaze at each other, "I am with you in this Camus, I am interested in how he would become in few years first before decide anything."

Camus nodded, "Then so be it…" He muttered softly, "Well then guys… return to your respective temple and remember… we swear secrecy of this meeting and the next private meetings we would hold in the future…" He trailed off. "And you know don't tell Shura… at least until he can regain his composure back." Aiolia looked down at the mentioned name, he didn't know if he should hate Shura for what he had done to Aiolos. But it's not like Shura had any choice and he already heard from Shaka how sorry Shura felt and he was close in losing his sanity. It was just not right to hate Shura now; the Capricorn saint had punished himself quite badly. "As for Saga… I don't know when he will return, but then again if it's him I don't think we need to ask his opinion. Saga is too loyal to sanctuary to say otherwise about Pope's order, better don't tell him anything…"

Aiolia shook his head, "Not telling him is a good idea Camus." Aiolia scoffed, "You know Saga seems to treat us like brats even after we became gold saints, he won't approve independent activity like this…"

"We don't know when he will return anyway… his mission to keep an eye on Poseidon's army can take forever." Camus pointed out, then silently added 'if he will ever return that's it.' Then he turned to Shaka, "About Mu… I will let you decide Shaka… even the Pope forbid us to tell anything to Mu for some reason, so choose wisely." Camus chuckled softly at Shaka's raised eyebrow, "Okay… I know the latter advice is not necessary when it comes to you."

SHaka nodded hesitantly, "I will think about it…"

Aiolia and Aldebaran peeked from the corner of their eyes at Shaka, they knew Shaka was angry yesterday. And they suspected it had something to do with Mu, something that never happened before. The closest Shaka and Mu ever got into a fight was when they were debating about philosophy, literature, history and what else they loved to discuss together. But they _never_ fight with each other, not even shouting at their counterpart. Aiolia to be honest never knew Shaka as good as Mu does and Aldebaran also wasn't when it comes to Mu.

Aldebaran and Aiolia snapped out of their though when Camus once again asked for their attention, no one mind Camus or Shaka was taking charge of them. They were always the brain of their group especially when Aiolos and Saga were not around. "Guys… let's go back before someone notice all temples except Capricorn is empty and it will not be pretty." He grumbled the last part, "And Aphrodite… make sure to suppress your cosmos when walk pass Capricorn with me, Shura is a very light sleeper these days."

They nodded in agreement before returned to their temple. Moon shone in the sky majestically and cloud seemed kind enough to leave moon alone to not veil its light. Far away in the east, in the land of rising sun another actor of this drama was sleeping innocently just like a baby he was.

* * *

**Japan, St Anne Church **

A nun sang a lullaby to the green haired baby on the cradle as the older boy with dark blue hair staring at them from his bed. The nun had brown eyes with her hair covered by white wimple, and she had ample proportion with motherly face. The boy insisted his bed to be placed next to his brother's much to the nun's amusement. The church occasionally accepted orphan but they never encounter a boy in young age that had been so aware of brotherhood, Ikki was very protective of Shun and he only allowed the nun to touch Shun once he was sure she meant no harm on them.

The Nun who named Clare smiled at Ikki, "Why don't you sleep Ikki-chan? It's not healthy for a child to not get enough sleep…" She said in motherly tone.

Ikki shook his head, "I want to make sure Shun is alright Sister Clare…" After what happened few weeks ago Ikki still can't overcome his fear of losing Shun, the horror of a stranger wanted to take his brother away from him was still fresh. "I am fine with no sleep, I am already a big boy so don't call me with chan!" He added stubbornly when Clare covered his body with thick blanket, it was still winter after all.

Clare chuckled at Ikki's stubbornness, "Now… now… Ikki-chan…" Ikki yawned and his eyes became teary because of sleepiness, "It seems big boy also need his sleep. Don't worry… this is house of God therefore your brother will be protected by God…" She assured him

"Really?" He asked with hope clearly shone on his eyes.

Clare nodded, "Yes… Ikki-chan now… sleep and tomorrow you can play with Shun-chan. Your brother won't play with sleepy Ikki-chan so sleep boy…" She cooed. Ikki only can grumbled a protest about his name as his eyes closed slowly, and Clare's motherly voice lulled him to sleep. The first good sleep he got since that encounter with Pandora.

* * *

**Sanctuary/ Athena's spring (few months later)**

This spring exist even before Sanctuary's first stone was placed, one of the most important place for saints and Athena. The forest was contrast with wasteland of training ground, with many statues of Greek figure from the past and the most important one was smaller replica of Athena's statue in the main temple. The water of the spring said to be blessed by Athena, and was one of the purest water source human can find on earth. Not far from the spring was a big gazebo with one row of seats that occupied by eight Gold saints, and a small crib in another corner complete with all babies' supplies from milk, change of clothes to diapers.

Gold saints wondered if old age made their Pope snapped, to the point he started this madness. Well, indirectly at least… No, the fake pope or rather Gemini Saga had not done anything homicidal or showing his double persona to the world. It was just started with brilliant idea from Tenma's babysitter namely Diana, which Saga agreed with the idea without second though. Nevertheless the reason why Diana though this was a brilliant idea on her part was none of their concern, all gold saints just wished they could get out of it.

Tenma was a toddler now, even though only three months passed since Golden Round, but then again when the first time they saw him, Tenma had feature of three months old baby For months interaction they had with him was just brief visit, whenever they happened to pass by Tenma with his babysitter in the main temple. All of them assumed the toddler was too young to began his training thus he was not their concern yet. After a week passed since golden round they had been allowed to return to their training ground, and situation had began to what it was before Aiolos' death. At least… for most saints.

Anyway because lack of contact with the toddler, Diana grew worried as Tenma didn't have any friends. So she requested Holy Father to call Gold Saints back to sanctuary and let them having an off time for few days, she wanted them to interact with him. Aiolia was too busy with his duty and piled up discrimination problem. Aldebaran despite willing to interact with the toddler was almost never around in sanctuary, his duty now demand him travel around the world most of the time to keep an eye on training grounds that located on deserted place. This duty previously belong to Aiolos, it was said sanctuary need sociable gold saint to do this duty, which more than half of gold saint were not one. Saga was busy with his watch duty on Poseidon and never return, or so they though. Aiolia was brother of a traitor and letting him traveling around freely was the last thing sanctuary would ever do. And Milo… he and Aiolia was needed in sanctuary to keep watch on trainee and other internal affair, they after all were the only Greek native gold saints left in sanctuary. And due to holy war was just one and half decade in the future, sanctuary was quite desperate to look for new saints candidate. This led to massive load of works for gold saints.

Shaka was not happy when he was called to sanctuary for petty affair when he was in charge as advisors and he also busy looking for saint candidate in Asia, and he was sure Camus though the same. The Indian saint was not in good mood especially because Mu didn't contact him at all since golden round, as if he had no interest in it. Shaka had chose to not be the one who contact Mu first, it was childish reason but Mu lied to him and Shaka won't let his friend get away with it. But for Mu to go along with the silent treatment began to get on his nerve. And Mu also refused the invitation this time with the same old reason of his, cloth reparation! Seriously this was getting old and even Aiolia and Milo didn't bother to correct it with the fact only two bronzes had went to Jamir with that purpose which happened two months ago. So that was no excuse except Mu decided to take his time, very… slow… so unlike him. Because Shaka recalled that in the past Mu ever repair cloth that full of minor scratch less than one hour. But that was none of his business, who was he to meddle in Mu's job? He felt like he didn't know Mu anymore in the last few months.

All gold saints were sitting on chairs that arranged in one row near Athena's spring, playing along with Diana's plan of nature's playground. They didn't mind got called back to sanctuary but they really mind if it's just because Tenma had no friend. Beside the toddler that was toddling around the pond watching his reflection on the water surface didn't bothered by the lack of companion. In fact Tenma let them mind their own business, as he was busy staring at his twin on the water surface. And he was cutely trying various expressions and was really entertained with the reflection. They wondered if normal toddlers usually were capable of entertaining themselves, or it was just Pegasus saint who had this quirk. Tenma was growing faster than normal, as he already able to walk almost perfectly and only stumble sometimes, and he could talk simple sentences and words that have less than three syllables.

Aldebaran and Aiolia were waiting for their friends to move from their seats, because the atmosphere simply made them uneasy to go off on their way to Tenma. Camus was definitely irritated because he didn't see the benefits of playing like a child when their saint training had rob them off of childhood, and Milo was waiting Camus to react instead of frozen on his seat. Aphrodite seemed content to be a spectator as watching his comrades in amusement especially a certain Italian saint who was mumbling curse nonstop since they arrived. Shura was at lost of what to do so he was waiting for someone to do something as a cue.

Yes, all gold saints were waiting… someone, anyone, and something…

And few minutes later something happened as they hoped, Tenma at last bored of his twin on the water surface and toddled to them with wide big brown eyes. Instantly all gold saints turned their attention to toddler who was standing in front of them, wondering what Tenma was up to now.

"What's up twerp?" DeathMask asked in annoyed tone.

Aphrodite groaned, Tenma was in the age of learning words. And he was sure the Pope and Mrs. Diana will not be pleased if Tenma learned curse from the Italian saint, and the worse part he will be held responsible. "DeathMask! Can you please try to use decent language around him?"

All gold saints rolled their eyes at the word 'decent', which pretty much not created for DeathMask. Tenma grinned at them as raised his hand. "Hello!"

They looked at him as if he had grown second head until Aiolia raised his hand, "Uh… hello Tenma."

Aldebaran was glad Tenma had broke the ice as he greeted the toddler, "Hello Tenma! Nice to see you!"

"Uh huh!" Tenma nodded enthusiastically. Then suddenly he toddled closer to the center of the row, which occupied by the guardian of sixth temple. "What is it?" Shaka asked coolly, he was glad Tenma was capable of simple conversation and not using stupid baby language. Much to Mrs. Diana's dismay no one wanted her encouraging Tenma to use baby language, including their Pope.

Tenma was so focused on Shaka's face as if there was something that fascinated him so much, if only Shaka had his eyes open there would be glaring contest. "Sleepy? Shaka is sleepy?" He babbled curiously, his hands clasped together as leaning his face on it as if it was a pillow. "Want to sleep? Bed?"

Milo, Aiolia, and DeathMask burst to roar of laugh at Tenma's question, Aphrodite and Camus smirked at Shaka's indifferent face and Aldebaran was fighting his urge to scoop the boy in bone crushing hug. Shaka sighed then answered, "No, I am not sleepy Tenma." Tenma then pointed his tiny forefinger right on Shaka's face, pointing it at Shaka's closed eyes but before Tenma could ask again Shaka slapped Tenma's hand lightly but enough to startle the boy. "Don't point your finger like that… it's rude." Shaka scolded in stern voice.

Everyone except Camus looked at Shaka in shock, "Shaka! You don't have to slap his hand like that!" Aldebaran said in horror.

"Yeah! What's the deal?" Milo chimed in, especially because he didn't think that was rude. And he did it from time to time anyway.

"I barely put any power in it…" Shaka pointed out, "If I did he would wail by now, and he didn't."

Tenma's lower lip quivered, The Virgo saint had sinking feeling Tenma might burst to waterworks like other toddler his age would any second now but thankfully, Tenma did nothing of the sort. He opened his mouth to a big O, "I am naughty?" He asked innocently. "Bad boy?"

Shaka sighed in relieve and saw the toddler with new respect, "No Tenma… not naughty it's just not polite to point your finger like that at someone." Shaka explained in lofty tone, "Don't do it again…" He added as took Tenma's hand he slapped then stroked it gently; maybe he was too harsh just like Aldebaran said. "Is it hurt?"

Tenma shook his head, "Nu uh…" He babbled cheerfully. "I am fine! Sorry…"

"No need to be sorry…" Shaka said as patted his messy brown hair, wondering why his babysitter didn't comb it properly. On second though the older image of Tenma he saw had unruly spiky hair, maybe his hair was really as stubborn as Tenma. Shaka sighed when he saw Aldebaran shook a bit behind him, "Yes… Aldebaran, you can pick him up if you want, but careful… toddler's bone is still soft." He reminded him.

Aldebaran always had soft spot to anything adorable, down from kitty to children. He was a gentle hearted giant, maybe the most normal one among them. Aldebaran picked Tenma up gently, earning exited squeal from Tenma. "Hello there! Like high place Tenma?" He cooed. "You are so cute!"

"Me?" He asked as putting his hand on his chest, "Cute? Yay!"

DeathMask cringed at the corny scene as Aldebaran hugged the toddler tightly as cooing like a mother, that image was so wrong with that giant body of his. "Yikes…" He grumbled in disgust.

Tenma's big brown eyes were now darting around as if looking for something fascinating, then once again settled on Shaka. "Cute! Shaka is cute too!" Shaka was dumbfounded at that, even Camus and Shura smiled a bit when the others were laughing softly. Camus glared at Tenma when the toddler locked his eyes at him, daring the boy to blurt out the same comment and he did. "Camus cute too?" Even though it sounded as a question it was a statement, and even Shaka can't help but chuckled at flustered face of Camus. Tenma was pleased at the reaction he got so he turned to the most obvious one, "Dite is cute too!" He praised, when he was first introduced to Aphrodite, the toddler found the name was too long and hard to spell it so Aphrodite allowed the boy to call him Dite instead.

The Pisces saint shook his head, "No… Tenma, I prefer beautiful…"

Tenma titled his head, "Bea.. u…" He struggled to get it right.

"Never mind…" Aphrodite shrugged, then took out a red rose out of nowhere earning him a squeal of excitement from Tenma as he proceeded to popped roses out of nowhere like a magic show. "Like it?"

Tenma clapped his tiny hands, "Yay!"

Milo looked at Aphrodite in disbelief, "Never know he likes children…" He commented in amused tone.

DeathMask shrugged, "He likes anything entertaining…" he corrected.

Aiolia rolled his eyes, "But still… I never can guess where Aphrodite kept his roses. He seems always took it out of nowhere."

The Cancer saint snickered, "Huh… who knows? Why don't you ask you dear friend Shaka? He can pull his rosary out of his palm!" DeathMask pointed out with a smirk.

Aiolia looked at Shaka and so does the rest of the group except Aphrodite and Aldebaran who were busy with Tenma. "That's a secret…" Shaka deadpanned, and no one dared to press the issue any further. Except if they were willing to bet their soul to six realms of hells for it.

* * *

"Cute!" Tenma babbled again, and all gold saints wondered who got the honor this time, and much to their horror that innocent brown eyes were locked to the most un-cute man they had, Tenma was looking at DeathMask.

"…"

DeathMask jerked his thumb to his chest, "Are you talking about me?" he asked, surprisingly not growling like he would usually. At the bobbed head of Tenma his jaw can't help but reunited with mother earth. "You must be f***ing crazy, runt! You and your S***…" He yelled as pointed accusingly at Tenma.

"DeathMask! Mind your language!" Aphrodite warned as shoved a handful of rose to DeathMask's mouth as if that can make anything better, "There!"

DeathMask spat out the roses in horror, "Are you trying to kill me!"

"That's normal rose you idiot…" Aphrodite said as rolled his eyes, "Do you think I will take out poisonous rose around my comrades?"

DeathMask gave him a look that said 'as if I can believe that' and then glared at Tenma, demanding why the boy called him that. The toddler somehow got the clue as he chirped, "Crabby!" Both of his hands pasted on each side of his head imitating DeathMask's headgear. And the Italian saint only needed two seconds before booming laugh echoed.

"HA HA HA HA HA!"

* * *

**Few minutes later…**

DeathMask took a deep breath, "Last warning…" He declared, "Stop laughing before I sent you to hell…" And he meant it literally, something that only he and Shaka were capable of.

Aphrodite snickered, "Ha ha… sorry Crabby! But you know… crabby headgear really suits you!"

Milo chirped in, "Yeah! You are so cute Crabby!"

Before DeathMask lunged at them Camus cut them in, "Enough! We don't want a 1000 days war here… before I am forced to turn anyone to ice block." And before anyone yelled 'you can't do that' to him he added, "And I got permission to do so from our Pope."

Shaka can't resist to add, "I also got the same permission so don't try…"

"Grr… fine!" DeathMask grumbled angrily.

"Err… guys…" Aiolia called, "Where is Tenma?"

All eyes widened as they scanned their surrounding in panic, they though Tenma was busy gulping down his milk on his crib. But the crib was totally empty with not even a hair left. For the first time in their life Gold saints fell chill creeping up their spine, they stood up abruptly from their seats as eyes darting around to looks for the brunette toddler. Then their eyes found Tenma toddled to a lush tree with Shura followed him closely. They slumped back to their seats with a sigh of relief, and then looked at each other oddly.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Aiolia and Milo laughed, "Man… Camus, Shaka! You should see your face when we though Tenma was missing! I never know you can have panic face!"

Camus blushed deep red, "Like you are not shocked too Milo! At least I didn't gape like a goldfish!"

Aphrodite chuckled softly at DeathMask, "Never though you can grow soft spot for a kid…"

"Oh shut up!" DeathMask growled.

Milo cleared his throat as if that can save his dignity, "Guys… do you think it's okay to leave Shura on his own?" Unlike the rest of gold saints Shura didn't return to his training ground, and no one allow him to do so in that state. Shura was still a wreck, and due to he is living permanently in sanctuary now awkward encounter with Aiolia was unavoidable. The Leo saint had tried his best to not hold grudge against Shura, but there was no point when Shura himself was slowly sink to deeper depression and guilt. The Pope had no choice but assign him to be instructor in sanctuary, Shura accept the said duty willingly and before he knew it Shura had drown himself in his job that he barely had any rest.

Shaka sighed, "So… Shura is still like that after months passed?"

Camus scoffed, "This is getting ridiculous…"

DeathMask and Aphrodite chose to ignore the conversation; they simply had no interest in how Shura handled his issue. Deep down Aldebaran hoped Mu was there with them, he always the one who was wise and caring. Camus and Shaka were wise but they were never one to be warm, they simply not one who can talk some sense to Shura. If anything the only thing they will say to Shura was all about duty and logic, and that's not what Shura need now. Aldebaran wanted to console Shura but he doubted the Spanish saint would listen to him. Aiolia… Shura wanted nothing more than get away from him, away from mirror image of his late best friend.

* * *

Tenma was looking at ripe red apple above him, it looked so tasty. He always loved fruit more than baby food he ate from time to time. But the apple was so high above like it was hanging on the sky; even with his hands reached out he can't grab it. Faintly the young child saw a shadow of longer hand reached out to the ripe apple, he blinked in confusion. He couldn't understand what he saw just now nor the image of those hands casually threw the apple to a young blond boy with angelic smile muttering a thank you to him.

Shura jumped then he plucked the apple from its tree then showed it right in front of Tenma's face. Shura raised an eyebrow at Tenma's dazed face, it as if his mind was wondering somewhere far away. Tenma blinked when suddenly he found red apple he wanted was right in front of him and Shura was looking at him worriedly. "Shura!" He chirped happily. "Thank you!"

The Capricorn saint sighed in relief, "Come… I will wash this apple in spring for you, Tenma." He said as offered his hand to Tenma, the toddler beamed as clung to Shura's hand cheerfully.

"YAY!"

* * *

"Hm…"

Aiolia narrowed his eyes at Shaka, "What are you thinking about Shaka?"

"Camus?" Milo asked when Camus exchanged an amused smile with Shaka, "Come on… this is quite a heartwarming scene, even if it's Shura." He muttered tiredly, "And you two are amused? Camus… sometimes I wonder why you and Shaka is kind of… heartless sometimes."

Camus rolled his eyes; "It's seeing things from different perspective, if you go 'aww' at this… I will see this as good sign for Shura to open up."

Shaka nodded in agreement, "We don't have to worry about him anymore… he will be fine."

This time it was Aiolia and Milo who rolled their eyes, "Sometimes… I wonder where is that confidence of yours come from…"

Camus shrugged, "Well…"

"It comes with a brain…" Shaka quipped with amused smirk.

Milo and Aiolia jumped at that, "Are you accusing me for being stupid?" They chorused angrily.

Aiolia growled, "I am not the same as this stupid scorpion!" He said as pointed at Milo.

"Hei! And you are so smart kitten?" He barked back.

DeathMask smirked at that, "Oh please… you need to ask that?" He asked in disbelief.

"DeathMask…" Aphrodite warned, and then turned his attention to Shura who walked toward them with Tenma on his arm. "Ah Shura, Do you need something?"

Shura nodded, "A plate… and knife." He answered tonelessly. Aphrodite smiled at that then he put knife and plate Shura needed on the table carefully. The Capricorn saint proceeded to peel off the apple carefully with full of concentration as if it was an important mission. Tenma was sitting on his lap, staring at Apple's peeled skin that became longer like a ribbon in fascination.

Aldebaran chuckled, "Heh… he got Shura too alright…"

"Yeah…" Agreed Aiolia.

Shura carefully cut down the apple to perfect small dices then handed the bowl full of apple dices to Tenma who squealed at the sweet treat. The Capricorn saint's lips curved up to a smile as patting Tenma's head gently, he felt like his burden had been lifted slowly. He knew Aiolia didn't hate him, if anything the younger saint had a look of pity whenever the Leo saint saw him. But Aiolia's compassion pained him even more; he wanted Aiolia to hate him. He would gladly let the boy to pummel him till he was only inches from death; he would gladly offer Aiolia his life in exchange of Aiolos' if only he had no duty to Athena. His duty and loyalty to Athena was the only thing that let him felt it's all right to live after he killed his best friend and brother he never had.

How he wanted to move on… from all of this despair, and this child. He thought sadly as looking at toddler who happily munching on his apple. He wondered how such tiny shoulder could bear such a heavy burden again and again like their goddess did. Shura raised an eyebrow when Tenma suddenly paused after he ate around one third of the portion then staring at empty space beside him.

"Tenma?" He called, which also drew attention from his comrades who were chatting not from them.

There was someone who supposed to be right beside him, someone was missing. Someone he should share the apple with, someone who loved the sweet fruit even more than he does. He is not here, She is not here…

He promised to always be by their side, to protect them with all he had…

_Where?_

_Where are you?_

_I am alone… alone…_

Tears rolled down Tenma's eyes as shadow of a girl with purple hair and blond boy slowly faded to nothingness. His eyes widened when the blond boy's form began to return to his sight, the boy wore such a sad smile, his tears streamed down his face as holding a bloody brush… blood slowly dripped from the brush, soaking the marble floor.

_Tenma… I am sorry…_

_I am sorry…_

"Aaaa…" His tiny reached out to the phantom oblivious of panicked face of gold saints around him. "lo…ne…" He stammered to nothingness as struggling to breath normally, and then shadow from the past faded and everything became dark.

_Sasha... Alone… _

_Where are you?_

_Answer me!_

_Don't leave me alone!

* * *

_

**Japan, St Anne Church **

A green haired baby was learning to walk; across him was Ikki who anxiously stretched his arms out, waiting for his brother to come to him. Shun was holding on a wall as struggling to support his weight with his feet, his emerald eyes were looking at his brother with pleading eyes.

Ikki shook his head, through these months ikki had learnt to not spoil Shun rotten. For Shun's sake he had to do this! Sister Clare also said so! "No Shun! I will not help you for this one…"

"Ugh…" Shun pouted cutely at his brother, which ignored by Ikki with turning his face away.

Clare was watching them in amusement; they were the most adorable brothers they ever had in this orphanage. Shun was a very intelligent child, he seemed to understand what they said even though he still babbled like other child his age would.

Shun slowly backed away from the wall to walk by himself, toddling clumsily to Ikki who was around ten feet away from him. It was very heart wrenching scene as from time to time Shun would sway left and right to keep his balance, instead of walking straight it was zig-zag. Clare and Ikki can't help but laugh at how funny Shun was walking, the toddler realized he was the center of attention and not for a good reason. His lower lip quivered as if he wanted to cry but instead Shun shut him mouth, and set his face in angry pout then glared at his laughing brother. But he failed to appear angry, as his legs were shaky and struggling to stand straight. Thus Clare and Ikki just laughed louder at him, tears began to pool on the corner of his green eyes, he was embarrassed and annoyed. Suddenly he blinked when familiar voice echoed from nowhere.

_Alone…_

_Alone…_

_Where are you?_

Shun began to walk toward his brother, his eyes were not focused. Ikki stopped laughing when he saw Shun was walking toward him. Then stretched his arms forward, ready to welcome his brother. "Shun! You are doing great! You walk straight and not stumbling at all!" Ikki praised happily.

"Keep going Shun-kun!" Clare cheered.

The green haired child didn't hear anyone but the voice that kept calling him desperately, the owner of the voice sounded in so much pain. Alone was not his name but this someone was calling him, he just knew it! He kept walking till he passed Ikki, and his brother was blinking in confusion with arms stretched for nothing.

Clare giggled at dumbfounded face of Ikki, she never saw Shun ignored Ikki like that. Who knows Shun can fool his brother like that? "Shun-kun? Where are you going my dear?" Clare asked as she followed Shun toward a window.

_Alone!_

_Where are you? Answer me!_

Shun tiptoed as his hands tried to reach the window frame, Shun was getting desperate he couldn't reach the window frame. Clare became worried when she saw Shun's expression, mix of sadness and desperation. But why? "Shun…" She called as walked toward him followed by Ikki, "What do you want to see? Here… let me help you my dear…" She said as picked Shun up, helping him resting his palm against the window frame.

Green eyes mirrored the red sky, in distant memories he loved the colors of the twilight. It always had the power to draw and hold tight to his gaze, and he couldn't help but stare at the sky in wonder and awe. During the day, the sky seemed a boundless cerulean, but as night approached, the hues of blue retreated, to be overtaken by splashes of crimson, orange and magenta. And of all color what drew his eyes was always crimson red, but he cared no more of it because that pained voice had disappeared. Drown in whirlpool of sadness and despair, his eyes watered because he missed the voice so much for some reason he couldn't understand.

"Hic hic…" He sobbed as biting his lower lip, sadness was growing fast on his heart.

"Shun?" Ikki gasped, Shun never cry suddenly without reason and from his looks it was the saddest Ikki ever saw on his brother. "Shun… don't cry!" Clare handed Shun gently to Ikki's embrace, hoping it would ease the emerald-eyed child's cries. "Hush… don't cry, big brother is here…" Ikki cooed softly, but Shun's cries did not cease and he cried for long while and fell asleep on his brother's arms.

* * *

**Sanctuary, Athena's Spring… **

Shura was shocked when Shaka suddenly covered Tenma's eyes with his hand that glowed with golden light of cosmos, and putting the child in deep sleep. "Shaka!" Shura gasped, "What are you doing?"

Shaka picked up the boy gently on his arms, and then turned to his startled comrades. "What I should do." He answered tonelessly.

The Capricorn saint scowled, "Are you sure you didn't harm Tenma with forcing him to sleep like that?"

The Virgo saint ignored him and what else his comrades said about his action, and then said a sentence that explained everything and they became silent. "His memory has overlap with his previous life…" Shaka explained grimly.

Camus paled, "But Shaka… you said it won't happen anytime sooner!"

Shaka sighed in annoyance, "I said the chance is slim but not zero!" he said as his hand began to glow as it hovered above Tenma's forehead.

Shura looked back and forth from Camus and Shaka, "What are you guys talking about? And why it seems everyone know except me?" He asked, but much to Shura's horror it was Aiolia of all people who tugged his arm then asked to follow him somewhere and he will explain everything to Shura. The Capricorn saint really wanted to run away but there was simply no escape from this so he obeyed reluctantly, following the Leo saint to the forest.

And Aiolia? He was fully intend to beat everything on Shura's head down from his opinion about Shura, Tenma's condition and what else he piled up inside. They will have a nice and long… talk…

"Shaka… "Milo asked, "What are you doing?"

"Shoving that past memory back to the right place…" He explained curtly.

Aldebaran looked worried, "Are you sure it's okay to mess around with memory of such a young child Shaka?"

The Virgo saint groaned, "Remember what I said before? Trust me… he is too young to deal with his previous life memories, and that is hurting him!" Shaka explained, "And I really _hate_ to do this but I have no choice! He might become insane if I don't do this." Shaka hissed through clenched fist.

Camus looked at Tenma skeptically, "Shaka… how effective this treatment is?"

"How effective?" Shaka repeated sarcastically, "I don't know… I can't possibly know how much good I can do for him!" He said as shaking his head.

"Can you explain?" Camus asked again, "I am not an expert in this Shaka!"

Shaka groaned as he continued his effort, "You know Athena didn't really remember her previous incarnation's memories? That's because there is a seal that prevent the previous life's memories to mix up with present one, deities maybe don't need this seal but Athena's body is a mortal body. Think of this seal like a safe to store memories, with locks and chains."

Camus narrowed his eyes, "So Tenma might have the same seal on him?"

Shaka nodded, "Yes… " He agreed in desperate tone, "And what happened to him for reincarnate like he did, it's the safe's door opened slightly, a very tiny gap that allow his memories to flood out."

"Then what the hell are you doing to help him Shaka?" Milo asked impatiently.

"Shoving that flooded memory back to the safe then close it!" Shaka barked, "Not really helping because I can't shove everything back nor lock the safe…" He trailed off in desperate tone, "This will happen again in the future and all I can do is easing the effect so this child will not go insane because of it!"

DeathMask scowled, "Che… are you sure this is a legendary saint we are talking about? If he can't deal with this, how the hell he can deal with Hades?"

Shaka almost opened his eyes in anger, "DeathMask…" He growled as his blue eyes opened slightly, "Our life as saint is never a walk in the park and he'd been in war! What do you think his previous life's memory consist of? And from what I see… memory that overlapped, this kid is reminded of something really… unpleasant! Can't you see he is frightened, very if I might add! He had faced it as a saint who was older than we are now, but can you expect he face it well when he was this young?"

"… Che… I am sorry then!" He growled.

Aldebaran shot DeathMask a look, then turned to Shaka. "Will he be alright?"

Shaka nodded, "I am doing what I can… he will be fine."

Aldebaran looked down sadly, "Shaka… what we would do if you are not here and this happen again?"

"… I don't know…" He answered honestly.

The Taurus saint didn't give up, he knew it would be hard to convince Shaka but… "Shaka… you know what I mean, don't play dumb!" He growled.

Milo narrowed his eyes; he knew what Aldebaran was getting into. "Shaka… I know you love your home in Uttar Pradesh Kusingara as much as Camus loves his hut, penguin and polar bear in Siberia …" Milo winced when Camus stomped on his feet, no doubt the Aquarius saint didn't like the joke. "But you know… sanctuary needs you here for Tenma. He is very important to us now… not just as God slayer." For once Milo's tone was stern and serious, "I would love to say please consider it, but you simply can't have any other choice. You can teleport from India to Sanctuary's entrance any time actually but..."

"Yes, I can…" Shaka agreed, "So?"

"But are you sure we can tell when he get this memory problem?" Milo pressed again.

Shaka shrugged, "Who knows?"

"And can we get you here in time?" He finished.

Shaka sighed, "Fine… I will talk about it to Holy Father. And Milo…"

"Yes?" Milo grinned in victory.

"You don't have to convince me… I am planning to stay in sanctuary permanently after this anyway…" Shaka deadpanned, "Nice speech by the way…" He commented with a smirk.

Milo was seeing red, "You! You were pulling my legs!"

Camus clapped his hands, "Congrats for pointing out the obvious Milo." He said sarcastically. "So is he okay?"

Shaka nodded, "He is sleeping now…" He trailed off, "There would be a very little bits of memory left but I am sure it would not harm him… I hope… what left is pleasant memory…" Shaka admitted sadly.

"Yeah…"

Tenma was dreaming of lush green stretched to horizon as far as he could see, and a big tree stood proudly not too far away. He smiled when he saw two figures were waving their hands to him, and without a second though leaped through the meadow to meet them.

_Alone!_

_Sasha!

* * *

_

**3 Years Later…**

Tenma disappeared was not something unusual, in fact the boy somehow had grew this habit and did this at least every week. Despite of his young age Tenma was quite capable of defending himself, at least as long as he didn't go out of 12 temples area. Some trainees were jealous of him because Tenma was trained by Gold saints and announced to be the future Sagittarius saint once the lost cloth can be found. Off course the latter was a big lie, the bronze Pegasus cloth that locked in Sanctuary was meant to be Tenma's not Sagittarius gold cloth. Jealousy toward Tenma was rooted from the fact they bothered to raise a baby to inherit the cloth instead of looking potential candidate from lower rank, usually lower ranked saint crawl from the lowest to gold saint rank. Even Dohko and Shion were perfect example as they skipped from Bronze to Gold rank. In this generation however, the Pope realized they could get better result with younger children as they develop seventh sense much quicker than earliest normal age of six to seven. This resulted to his generation to don their cloth in young age, an age where older children just started training and barely able to tap their cosmos.

They can get away from jealousy due to People though it was because his generation was extremely talented group; they were but some children like Mu, Camus and Shaka were the one who creamed sweet that statement the most. It was not because they were the strongest in fact the gap between gold saints in power was very thin. It was because they were extremely talented in non-combat skill, Mu was naturally gifted blacksmith, Camus was a genius in science, philosophy, art, history and what else and Shaka even though he was as smart as Mu and Camus, no one really notice this part as the Indian boy was more known as some kind of prophet or demigod in India.

Well… back to Tenma, the boy compared to their awesome history of childhood was very plain save he was taught by gold saints. Tenma paid attention to cosmos practice in remarkable level but in another ground he was as hyper as he could. And meditation Shaka forced on him to increase concentration was useless because Tenma fell asleep in meditation, and Shaka was not pleased for it. So trainee's opinion about him was not exactly great in good way because Tenma can get special treatment even though he was not talented at all. Correction, he was seemed like that because they kept comparing him with Gold saints, in fact Tenma was better than most trainees. And if only those blabbering trainees knew who Tenma was, and why he got special treatment. DeathMask was sure those trainee won't be able to deal with half of shits Tenma had been through.

DeathMask though he was really dead as the brat was nowhere to be seen again. He only blinked for a few seconds and Tenma was gone to who knows where. The Italian saint was scared of few things, no… unlike what people though he was never ashamed of it for appropriate reason.

One, he was human and it's human to scared of something but doesn't mean he will run away from it like a coward.

Two, Most people will scared of it too, even a gold saints.

Three, You should be scared of it if you want to live longer…

What DeathMask was scared off was simply his comrades and their protectiveness of Tenma, understandable due to how long they had spent raising the boy together. But it was mostly Aldebaran, Aiolia, Shaka and Shura. They totally will maim him if they know he let Tenma ran off to who knows where. They were overprotective but never spoiled the boy though, it was mostly because of Tenma's seizure whenever his memory's problem triggered by something he saw, smell and touch. And God knows of how random the thing that could trigger Tenma's memory, almost as random as spices Shaka put on his Indian cooking. Going to Shaka's kitchen when he was cooking was absolute torture for him and Aiolia who had sharp sense of smell, and he didn't know which one is worse, Aphrodite's rose or Shaka's spices. Fortunately all of those things only work once and Tenma didn't have any problem if he encounter the same thing again, but this made all of them to be cautious because you never knew what can cause it.

Tenma ever got seizure when he saw bonfire in Rodorio village, luckily Aldebaran scooped the boy up and ran with speed of light to Virgo Temple. Shaka's rosary also did it even though not as bad as one before. When DeathMask went back home drenched in blood, Tenma had it even before he saw DeathMask but because of strong smell of blood. The worse that ever happened was when Shura and DeathMask brought him to artist studio in Rodorio to fetch painting the Pope ordered, Tenma already paled when smell of paint invaded his nose when they just right in front of studio's door, and shaking when he saw painting of twilight. No one noticed because Tenma had wandered around the studio by himself, Tenma collapsed with seizure when he touched the painting that unfortunately not dried yet and his hand became red because of the wet paint. Shaka was throwing a fit when he saw Tenma's state, and that day ranked high up there as the most horrible day he ever had

And if he didn't find the brat fast, today will be horrible. It was quite easy actually to find Tenma because the boy somehow was so fond to hang around Libra Temple or Sagittarius Temple. No one can understand why he liked to doze off in empty temple for hours practicing his cosmos, but Tenma had no special fondness for Aries though. Shaka simply said it might be just quirks that caused by his memories, or he had special relationship with previous Sagittarius saint and Roushi.

DeathMask shook his head as began to walk up the stairs to Leo, luckily Aiolia was busy in training ground so he can walk pass Leo with ease. If Aiolia knew he didn't pay attention to Tenma when it was his turn to watch the brat, Aiolia will throw a fit and that was so annoying! When Temple of Maiden was just ahead he hoped Shaka was off somewhere even though since three years ago Shaka was stuck in sanctuary or precisely in his temple, buried by paperwork's and rarely got send to mission outside. But Lady Fortuna spared him again as no sign of floating Shaka above the giant lotus, nor sound of scribbling from his office. So DeathMask walked pass Virgo like he did Leo, when he arrived in Libra the brunette boy was nowhere to be seen, this mean Tenma was likely in Sagittarius. Oh shit… he hated that place, not because he was scared if Aiolos haunted his temple or anything but because that place was where Shura and Aiolia would put fresh flower every week in secret (not so secret actually because all gold saints knew) and then brooding there in their spare time. In one word that place was creepy… for him at least. And the brat said that temple had a very soothing cosmos.

He froze when he reached Scorpio temple because right when he stepped on the entrance Shaka was just about to walk out of the temple, "Shaka? What are you doing here?" He asked incredulously.

The Virgo saint raised an eyebrow, "I was collecting reports from Milo." He answered as showed a scroll on his hand. "And it suppose to be me who ask, why you are here DeathMask and where is Tenma?"

"… Well I…"

Shaka shook his head, "Never mind…" He muttered as turned back to Scorpio Temple, "I assume Tenma ran off to train alone again?"

DeathMask scoffed, "Why ask if you already know? And the brat is most likely in Sagittarius…"

"I know…" Shaka replied with a sigh, "Say… sun is almost set so it's my turn to watch him now, so let me handle him…" He said as looked at setting sun on the west.

The Italian saint shrugged then walked down the stairs, "Suits yourself…"

* * *

**Sagittarius Temple**

CRACK

Tenma had crushed hundreds of palm-sized rocks today for hours, but what he did was not enough. Not enough to make his brothers proud of him. Not enough to stop jealous trainee from complaining to the Pope about the special treatment.

CRACK!

Not enough to help him stopping seizure he got sometimes and also confusing illusion that invaded his mind. Shaka told him if he developed good mental resistance, he can shrug it off easily… but meditation was simply not the most favorite activity of his.

CRACK!

"Arrgh!" Tenma groaned.

"Tenma…" Shaka called him from behind, Tenma was not surprised because Shaka always appeared from nowhere from time to time. "It's time to rest… so I will send you down to Aldebaran to take a bath… he just returned from Egypt two hours ago, I am sure you miss him."

"…Alde is home… good…" Tenma muttered absentmindedly.

Shaka sighed, "Okay… what were those fools telling you this time?" He asked in annoyed tone.

Tenma shook his head, "I didn't hear anything…" He muttered softly as piled the rocks carefully, "No one told me anything." He added sternly.

"Forget I ever ask… I should know." Shaka replied tiredly, "Tenma, how many times we told you that you don't have to prove anything?" He asked as massaged the bridge of his nose.

Tenma stood up from crouching down on the floor then turned back to Shaka, trying to be intimidating but the boy only as high as Shaka's waist. "I am okay if they told me I am weak and stupid unlike you when you were my age." He admitted bitterly, "But I don't like they accuse you all as bad teachers and maybe you are not as strong as they though, that you are brats like me!" Tenma growled the last part angrily.

Shaka opened his eyes and Tenma flinched at that, he always knew if Shaka opened his eyes it meant he wanted to make a point. One that Tenma should obey no matter what. "Tenma… while I appreciate you standing up for our honor, you have to know that nothing they told you is true. And we told you this many times… Camus did explain it to you clearly, didn't he?"

The future Pegasus saint nodded, "He did…" He agreed reluctantly, "But still I feel like betraying you for not being able to fulfill expectation."

"What expectation?" Shaka asked back, "Tenma… the pace you are going now considered our average when we were your age."

"But!" Tenma opened his mouth to protest again. Shaka had enough so the next thing Tenma knew was a fist landed right on the top of his head, "AWW!"

Shaka shrugged at accusing look Tenma shot at him, "Tenma… stop this stupid train of thought, do you know you can beat those trainees when they were four in your sleep? And I am sure you can put up a fight by now even if they are so much older than you… " He trailed off tiredly, "By the age of seven you will be able to don Pegasus cloth… which is the same age as me, Aiolia, Milo, and Aldebaran when we don ours." He pointed out loftily, "What else do you expect of yourself Tenma?"

Tenma crushed the piled rocks with his fist that covered in silverish blue glow, the pile had five rocks but only till the third it got crushed, "Better than I am now!" He replied with fire burned on his eyes.

Shaka sighed, "Tenma… you are hurting yourself."

"I am not!"

"…"

Tenma was about to pile the rock before Shaka called him, "Tenma… try close your eyes…" He ordered, Tenma as usual obeyed. "Now tap in your cosmos slowly… feel the flow of cosmos within you and your surrounding. Then let it flow to your fist, don't rush it… you have to be familiar of the feeling." Tenma suddenly turned back then walked to Temple's wall. "Tenma? Wait! Don't do that!" He warned but before he can stop it Tenma had blasted the Temple's wall, leaving a big hole.

He opened his eyes then gasped at big hole had created, "I did it Shaka! I am awesome!"

Shaka rolled his eyes, "Tenma… you are great." He praised the younger boy tiredly, "But why you blasted the wall and not the rock?"

Tenma blinked at that, "I though when you said feel flow of cosmos of my surrounding… that wall feels like a beacon for me, as if inviting me to blast it!" He answered cheerfully; completely forgot Shura and Aiolia will have a fit for what he had done.

The Virgo saint knew Sagittarius Temple was always an odd one since its guardian's death. Off course it was not odd in a sense of occult, it was just the cosmos that inhabited the temple. All Temple had it but mostly because they lived in it, Sagittarius lost the cloth and guardian. The cosmos in Sagittarius was weaker than other temple but it was there and no one bothered to find out why, and Tenma was right it was focused on the wall he blasted. Shaka walked pass Tenma then looked at the remnant of blasted wall, his eyes widened when he saw some of the debris had something carved on it.

"Tenma…" Shaka called as turned to him, "Go get Aldebaran to accompany you tonight, and don't tell anyone you blasted a wall… next time look for some big rock to be blasted as proof if you want to show off."

"Hei!" Tenma sounded hurt, "I didn't do this for show off!"

"And what do you think Shura and Aiolia will say if they know about this hole?" Shaka asked smugly.

Tenma paled, "Ugh… I am sorry!" He said as turned to run off looking for Aiolia and Shura, Tenma was never good at lying and when he did something wrong he would run off to look for his brothers to apologize. "Sorry Shura! Aio!" He chirped in panic.

But before he can run away, Shaka grabbed his red training cloth. "Hold your horse Tenma…" He ordered, "This is no big deal and I can fix it, so don't tell anyone."

"Why?" Tenma asked as blinking repeatedly.

Brown eyes met blue and Tenma began sweating under Shaka's intense gaze, "Don't tell anyone, am I clear?" Tenma nodded dumbly, "Trust me… by tomorrow this wall is as smooth as new, and I am partially at fault for it… so let me handle it."

Tenma nodded again, "Shaka… sorry about the wall."

Shaka sighed as ruffled Tenma's messy brown hair, "Just… don't tell anyone, sorry I can't tell you why Tenma… I promise I will explain when I think the time is right."

"Okay…" Tenma muttered as turned back, running toward the exit. And as if forgot of what happened just now he squealed excitedly as leaped through ten steps at once, "ALDE!" As if Aldebaran could hear him from the ninth temple, in the end Tenma was very much a child, Shaka mused.

Shaka flicked his wrist and began to short out debris with carving and one without. There was around forty seven fragments, luckily Tenma was not strong enough to blast the wall to bits so the fragment was palm sized and easy to put it back together. "Let's see… these four fragments undoubtedly in one row…" Shaka's eyes narrowed when he saw the name carved on it, "Aiolos…" Shaka chuckled softly, "I know I recognize this handwriting from somewhere…" He said as began to work on another fragment and after few minutes, Shaka could see the result of his work. His eyes widened in disbelief, his legs felt numb as he kneeled in front of puzzle he had solved.

"It can't be… " He always knew there was something wrong with Aiolos' betrayal, all gold saints deep in their heart doubted Aiolos was capable of it. But they never found any prove or reason other than their admiration of late gallant Aiolos. "But if this is right…" He muttered in horror, if the truth out now. They had just recovered from crisis of trust, thanks to Tenma's presence but this… will shake sanctuary to its foundation. His long slender finger traced the carving carefully as if it can spell the carving differently from what he saw. Shaka stood up shakily as he tried to regain his composure, his right hand stretched out as it glowed gold.

Shaka turned his face away as the fragments began to float in the air, "I am sorry… Aiolia… Shura… everyone." He muttered with trembling voice, his eyes clenched shut as all debris that left turned to dust and swept away by the wind. "Forgive me…" He muttered to nothingness as his legs once again gave up and he fell on his knees, "… Aiolos, I hope you can understand…"

* * *

**Next Day**

Since Tenma learned to run, morning in sanctuary was begin with this routine… a tiny brown mop was running with top speed from Taurus to Main Temple followed by guardian of the second temple.

**Gemini Temple**

"Morning! Excuse me!"

Aldebaran rolled his eyes, "Tenma… how many times I told you that Saga is out for a mission?"

**Cancer Temple**

"Morning Masky!" Tenma chirped, as walked pass DeathMask who was still half asleep, no doubt was just pulled from his cotton land.

The Italian saint growled to trainee who was leaving trail of dusk smoke in his temple, "Hei! How many times I told you to not call me that BRAT?"

The Taurus saint sighed, "Morning to you pal, and you know he never listen…"

**Leo Temple**

Aiolia smiled as he was doing morning warm up when he saw Tenma sprinted to his direction, "Morning Tenma!"

Tenma skipped to slow down, "Morning Aio! You see… this morning I am so awesome!" He babbled cheerfully.

"Oh yeah?" Aiolia grinned. "What's our hero doing this morning?"

Tenma beamed, "I can crush a big BIG BIG rock! I can do it!"

The Leo saint's eyes widened in amazement, "You did?"

Aldebaran nodded, "Yeah… startled me when the little guy suddenly wanted a big rock then blasted it to pieces." He explained proudly.

"So… want to tell Holy Father and the rest of our folks?" Aiolia asked with a grin.

Tenma nodded, "Yup! Gotta go Aio! Bye!" And once again Tenma sprinted full-speed.

Aiolia sweat-dropped, "Man… I don't think I had that much energy in the morning when I was four."

**Virgo Temple**

"Morning Shaka!" Tenma chirped and when he found no one in the main room without hesitation Tenma yelled louder, "SHAAAAAAAAKAAAAAAA MORNING!"

…

"Tenma?" Aldebaran called, "Shaka is not here? Weird… usually it's his morning meditation time…" The Brazilian gaped when saw Tenma was already far away, "Tenma wait!"

**Libra Temple**

"Morning! Excuse me!" Tenma yelled as his greeting echoed in empty temple.

Aldebaran sighed, "Tenma! I told you Roushi is in Rozan for years!"

**Scorpio Temple**

"Morning! Milo! Camus!" Tenma greeted as walked pass the two close friends who was enjoying their breakfast. Then turned back just to shout, "I blasted a BIG rock this morning! It's awesome!" And then there he goes…

Camus raised an eyebrow, "Well… that's a good progress." He commented dryly.

Milo laughed, "That brat come all the way up just for this? But then again he did this everyday…"

"Tenma! Slow down!" Aldebaran yelled as running pass the two without even a small greeting.

"… That's a bull just now…"

"Yeah…"

**Sagittarius Temple**

"Morning! Excuse me!"

"We told you that…" Aldebaran began, "Never mind…"

**Capricorn Temple**

"SHUUUUUUUUUURAAAAA! Morning!"

"Shura is on mission." Aldebaran informed him.

Tenma's shoulder fell, "Ohh…" Then he beamed, "Oh well! Next!"

**Aquarius Temple**

"Morning!"

Aldebaran didn't bother to correct Tenma about he had greeted the French saint in Scorpio, Tenma kept the routine just for fun anyway…

**Pisces Temple**

"Morning Dite! I blasted a BIG rock this morning!" He babbled happily to the fairest saint.

Aphrodite chuckled, "Yes good job Tenma and DeathMask told me via telepathy, you have told everyone huh?" Tenma nodded then was about to sprint when Aphrodite yanked his collar, "And Tenma… how many times I told you that you can't run through my roses without me?"

"Err… lots?"

"Everyday…" Aphrodite corrected.

**Main Temple, Master's chamber**

Saga rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering if today will be more eventful that it already was. He was so close to snap, wondering how long he can keep this façade for sanctuary like Shaka said.

* * *

_Flash Back_

"_You want to return to Asia continent for today?" Saga asked in disbelief, "Where exactly you are going to go Shaka? Asia is the largest continent in the world." He pressed sternly. _

_Shaka closed his eyes, "Please don't press this issue any further, I promise will return by tonight…" As silently added, 'if I alive by the end of today…' _

_The false Pope shook his head, "Shaka… you are my subordinate thus your safety is my responsibility. Why you insist of not telling me where you want to go?" _

"_Is this mean if I keep my mouth shut, I will not going anywhere?" Shaka asked rhetorically _

_Saga narrowed his eyes beneath the mask, "Off course…"_

_Shaka bit his lower lip nervously, he couldn't bear it. He had to do this no matter what even if it cost him his own life. Shaka opened his blue eyes, startling Saga at sudden action that can mean as hostile gesture. "Let me go… I am sure I can take care of myself, and what I am going to do is very important to me thus you have no right to stop me!" _

_Saga was taken back at sudden hostility in Shaka's part, the Virgo Saint was never crossed his boundary. "Shaka… as your superior I have…" _

_Shaka cut him in, "But you are NOT Pope Shion thus… you are not MY superior." Shaka spat with disgust. _

_The false Pope paled beneath his mask, how did he know? Saga struggled to keep his dark side under control; he didn't want to kill his comrades anymore. He didn't want to cause grief, and torn his comrades apart once again. He tried telling his dark side how important Shaka was on their plan, that the Indian saint was irreplaceable. "What… do you want Shaka?" He asked with strangled voice. _

_Shaka narrowed his eyes, "Let me go to wherever I want today." He drawled tonelessly, "And don't worry, I will not tell anyone about this… you have my word as a saint." _

_Saga's eyes widened in disbelief, "Why?" _

"_Why?" Shaka repeated, "How if it's because I want to side with you in this war?" _

_The Gemini saint clenched his teeth; he knew DeathMask and Aphrodite would go along with his dark side because of power. But Shaka was not someone you can conquer by power, "and why you will side with me?"_

"_Athena is not here, is she?" Shaka asked, even though it was more of a statement. "If she is so easily dethroned by you, baby or not…" Shaka trailed off, "I can't pledge myself to such a weak goddess, and in fact I have doubted her for a long time…" _

_Saga can't believe what he just heard, what Shaka was trying to imply? "Is that all?" _

_Shaka waved his hand, an amused smirk painted on his lips. "Athena had warred against many deities and never lose even once, but in the same time she never really win the war. She was postponing it… nothing more." He explained dryly, "Don't you think we need someone who can end this war forever?" He asked back. _

"_And you think I could?" Saga asked in disbelief, "I don't think that's a good reason for me to believe you." He confessed, actually the one Shaka needed to convince was his dark side._

_The Indian saint narrowed his eyes, "Tenma… I want to free him from holy war, Athena and Hades…" _

"… _Oh? Tenma…" _

_Shaka nodded, how he hated to use Tenma as an excuse. "I will not tell anyone as long as you are still in power… and Tenma trust you. And in the same time you might endanger him if we do anything foolish…" _

_Saga wanted to deny the last part but he can't say the same when it comes to his dark side, "Yes… I will…" The answer came with strangled voice. _

"_All gold saints are attached to Tenma… just like you planned years ago in Golden Round." Shaka continued with indifferent face, "Tenma is little brother we never had, he brings joy to our life and remind us what it feels to be a human child." Shaka trailed off, "Therefore… I won't let him to suffer in holy war in the next life, I want this holy war to be the last one… and I am sure all gold saints think the same…" _

"…"

"_I have no reason to rebel against you, nor I want to give Aiolia or Shura a reason… or everyone you have deceived all this year." Shaka added tonelessly, "Because of Tenma, you have all of us under your thumb!" Shaka spat in disgust, "So is my reason good enough for you?" _

_Saga was fighting an urge to gripped his throne's wood to splinter as Shaka's word sank in and his dark side was overjoyed at Shaka's revelation. "Yes… now get out." He ordered with anger sipped on his voice. _

"_As you wish…" Shaka replied haughtily as turned his back on Saga, then walked out of the room quietly._

_End of Flash Back…

* * *

_

"So… you manage to complete your rock crushing training?" Saga asked Tenma who comfortably sitting on his lap.

Tenma nodded, "I did it!" He cheered.

Saga turned to Aldebaran, "Good job in teaching him Aldebaran…" he praised the Brazilian saint.

He shook his head, "It's Shaka who gave him the advice Pope."

"Oh…"

Tenma nodded, "Shaka helped me with the rock!"

Saga patted his head lovingly, "Well… it's good to hear you did it, and… you want to ask something right?"

"Uh huh… where is Shaka? I didn't see him this morning!" Tenma asked, his face painted by disappointment.

Saga stiffened but quickly regaining his composure, "He has something to do in India but he will return by tonight."

"Oh!"

Aldebaran narrowed his eyes, he smelt something fishy here. But what's Shaka doing in India?

* * *

Jamir, Lemurian Tower

Mu had lived three years in solitude and it's almost the fourth year, far away from his brother in arms. He dreamed of cloudless sun lit skies and the comfort of familiar presences. A warm safe home, arms around him, a lap to sit in and familiar voices. The world of his memories slowly faded and little by little roughed thatched beams of a house crept into view, followed by the blurry scenery of his room. Mu opened his eyes slowly, and then laughed softly. "I overslept…"

Mu looked outside but startled when suddenly thunder roared in the sky, and heavy rain poured to Jamir's earth. "Well… that's quite a rain, I wonder if in few days it would be snowing." He muttered softly was walked to the window, admiring the white world of Jamir and fresh smell of rain felt nice. Mu scanned his surrounding and startled when he found someone was standing not far from his tower. "A guest? A saint needs cloth reparation?" He wondered out loud, but why this saint didn't shout or warn him with cosmos flare? He can't be sleeping and notice someone and a saint no less was in his doorstep! Saint had sharper sense than normal human, there is no way! Mu's eyes widened when he take a good look at his guest, he wore white robe that covered most of his body but he could see blonde locks peeked through the robe and also his feet that covered by gold cloth.

"SHAKA!" Mu called in panic, what was he doing here? And why he was hiding his cosmos like that? It can't be… Shaka he… come for… Mu pushed away that horrible though as he teleported right in front of Shaka quickly. Mu was surprised Shaka was standing frozen in a weather like this, but even more when he saw Shaka opened his eyes. "Shaka… what are you doing here?" Mu stammered nervously.

"Mu…" How long he never heard his brother in arms called his name? How long he had live without them? "I… "

Mu shook his head then took hold of Shaka's hand, "Later Shaka… let's go in first." He muttered as teleported back to his tower.

* * *

Shaka was at a lost of what he wanted to say, even though he took time to teleport to the Jamir's infamous bridge just to get enough time arranging words he needed. But till he was here, right in front of Mu he can't find it. "Shaka…" Mu called, there was a hint of annoyance in Mu's voice. "What are you thinking to stand in such a bad weather and in Jamir no less."

Oh… it's Mu and his infamous motherly lecture, when the last time he heard it?

Right… when he was fasting three days straight, how long Mu scolded him for it?

Mu was drying his hair after dropped spare towel on Shaka's hair that the dazed Virgo let perching on his head without using it. "You wear robe but it's not waterproof Shaka! What if you get sick?"

"Mu, I can't be sick so easily..." he muttered objection softly.

Mu glared at Shaka, he hated it when Shaka was being stubborn about something like this. Shaka was always careless when it comes to his health. "Oh please..." Mu narrowed his eyes dangerously, "How many times you were being so careless when it comes to your own well being? You think it would be just a cold? Even a cold can develop to Bronchitis!"

Shaka sighed, Mu never changed and his mother hen attitude if anything had became worse since last time Shaka saw Mu. "Please... you are exaggerating."

"Oh, so what will Virgo Shaka do if that happen?" Mu drawled haughtily, "I wonder..."

Shaka rubbed his damp hair with the towel slowly, "I will deal with it then…" Yes, he had to… if he wanted to go on with this, when world collapsed on him last night he had to deal with this. He had to get rid of his guilt at least a little…

The Aries saint chuckled softly, that's the normal stubborn Virgo he knew so well. Maybe he was too paranoid to think Shaka came to Jamir under Pope's order, Shaka must be just missing him just like he did. "So Shaka… how you can get here?"

Shaka expected Mu to ask that and he used the chance well to bring up the issue, he threw away the towel to nearby basket, his eyes locked to Mu's emerald eyes. "How I can get here?" He repeated.

He nodded nervously, "I am just asking… because you always seems so busy in the last few years." Mu pointed out nervously.

The Virgo saint nodded, amused smile painted on his lips. "Well… everyone is busy, even Milo and DeathMask is quite busy with their job."

Mu was fighting an urge to turn his face away, he knew his lie was so obvious and everyone will figure it out in no time. And what he dreaded the most if Shaka asked him the reason. "Is that so? But you have not answer my question…"

"…"

"Shaka?"

"The _fake_ pope permitted me to do so off course…" Shaka said as clearly as possible.

Thunder once again roared and became louder than the first one, Mu's eyes widened in disbelief as he tried to comprehend what Shaka said just now. He knew? But how? "Shaka you…"

"Know your master have died long time ago? Or precisely not long before we came to sanctuary together that time?" Shaka asked again, "Yes… I know…"

Mu slumped back to his bed as his legs felt numb, "Shaka…" he didn't want to ask this, not to his closest friend. He didn't want what happened to Shura and Aiolos repeated to him and Shaka, no… no… "You know Master Shion died…" Mu began slowly, "Why you come to me now?"

"Well…" Shaka began, "Let's say I made a little agreement with this impersonator…"

* * *

4 years later…

**Temple of Giant Crab **

"That brat is missing again!" DeathMask yelled in his temple, even his collection cringed at volume he used.

Aphrodite closed his ears, "Then what are you waiting for?" he asked incredulously, "I already looking for him in Sagittarius and Libra but he is not there so he is in Rodorio for sure!" The fair saint explained calmly, "You know there are bunch of new trainee we accepted this year and many saints are in Rodorio with their disciples, Milo said… a rich Japanese donated 100 boys to training grounds around the world…"

DeathMask raised an eyebrow, "Donating 100 trainees?" He repeated in disbelief.

The Pisces saint nodded, "Yeah… who knows what that man was thinking, but then again we are desperate of human source anyway." He shrugged, "Beside… 100 boys is not a big number, he will be lucky if out of 100 there are around two or three who can get their cloth. More than that is miracle…"

The Italian saint nodded in agreement with a sneer, "What the hell that old man was thinking? If he really wanted the cloth he should send around 500!"

"Whatever… and Masky…"

"Don't call me that!" The Cancer saint roared to his best friend.

Pisces smiled at that, "Oh yes… only Tenma can call you that…"

"When that brat ever listens if it's not Shaka or Camus who told him 'Don't do it!' huh?" Cancer asked incredulously. "Complete with mumbo jumbo of logical analysis…"

Aphrodite nodded, "Yes… now go before Shaka and Aiolia return from Poros, you know… what those two would do if they know you are careless again with their little brother…" the fair saint cooed mockingly, and DeathMask was gone in the next second to found their favorite little brother. With treat of Lion's and Buddha's wrath hanging on his head.

* * *

Poros (Port Town of Greece)

"**Achoo!" **Shaka and Aiolia sneezed in the same time.

"It's summer how come I sneezed?" Aiolia wondered out loud.

Shaka shrugged, "I don't know but somehow I have sudden urge to strangle DeathMask and fed his remains to hungry ghost in realm of Preta…"

"Hei!"

"What?" The world is going to end, Aiolia tried to defend DeathMask…

"I want to strangle him too!" Aiolia whined.

Or not…

* * *

**Rodorio **

Shun was happily drinking his chocolate milk, something that he can't get in Andromeda Island. It was a luxury in training ground like Andromeda Island, the most hellish training ground second only to Death Queen Island. In his training ground Cepheus Daidalos forbid all drinks except water, his master was not being harsh but it was for their own good. Weather in Andromeda Island at day was hell; so drinking any seasoned drink would make you thirstier.

"So… do you like Rodorio Shun?" Spica asked as looking back to him, Shun nodded with a smile to his fellow trainee.

"Not a big city but better than no civilization like in our island!" Leda added with a sigh them took a bite of his crepe.

"Yes… there are so many people!" He agreed.

Master Daidalos had gone with his fellow silver saints, and June was with him because he wanted to introduce him with amazon of silver rank. Something about girls need girl talk, Shun didn't understand though. Spica and Leda warned him to _not_ even think of knowing the girl talk, when Shun asked if they still believe girl has cooties, Leda and Spica had answered NO and a big one too. So he didn't ask anymore.

Shun blinked when he looked down that they were shadowed by something and it was not cloud for sure. The trio looked up in the same time and saw a boy clad in white armor and red shirt and pant underneath, the boy looked around Shun's age but they couldn't see clearly because how fast he was leaping above them as if he was soaring the sky and disappeared behind a rooftop.

Leda and Spica gaped at the sight, "What was that just now? Somebody was flying!" Leda exclaimed to no one.

Shun was dazed at the sight, it as if that boy had wings on his back, soaring the sky like heavenly steed Pegasus. "Just now…" He muttered, "That boy wear a cloth! He is a saint!" Shun exclaimed.

"Seriously? That boy looks around your age Shun! I never heard anyone with lower rank than gold saints don cloth in such a young age!" He exclaimed in disbelief.

"But I am sure it's a cloth but unlike Master Daidalos' it was pure white!" Shun replied in serious tone, "I am sure he is a saint!"

Leda and Spica rolled their eyes, "Not gonna believe that Shun!"

"But!"

An old man in his sixties laughed at the bickering boys and when their attention were drawn to him, he laughed louder, "Boys… the one you saw is a young saint from sanctuary training ground, he really is a saint… a bronze though."

"Eeeh?"

Shun beamed at that then walked closer to the old man, "Mister, who is that boy? What constellation he represents?"

The old man chuckled at Shun, "Curious boy?"

Shun nodded, "He is my age and already a saint when I just started my training! He must be really good…" He explained sheepishly.

Leda and Spica looked at each other then followed Shun to the old man who kept laughing in joy for some weird reason, "That boy is Pegasus saint… sometimes he leaped across Rodorio's rooftop just for a walk."

"Pegasus…" Shun smiled at that, no wonder he can jump as if he had wings!

The old man nodded then waved a good bye, "Want to hang our around you a bit longer boys but I gotta back or my wife will disown me!

Leda and Spica rolled their eyes at retreating figure of the old man, "Wait… I think I ever heard about this guy, and not a good one too…" Spica grumbled.

Shun blinked, "Eh?"

Leda raised an eyebrow then nodded, "Oh… you mean when Greg throwing a tantrum last year?"

Spica looked at confused Shun then grinned, "Greg is trainee like us but so much older, he is our senior in a sense… last year when his master and him visit Andromeda Island he told us about this Pegasus saint."

The Japanes boy listened intently then asked, "What did he say?"

Lead and Spica looked at each other, "Err… the short version is 'Greg hate him' yep, that sums it up nicely…" Spica commented dryly.

Leda laughed, "More like 'Gred is jealous of him' it sound more like that to me…"

"Because he is a saint?" Shun asked.

"Well can't blame Greg to be jealous of that guy." Then jerked his thumb to his chest, "I don't hate him because I don't know this guy at all… but all trainees have right to be jealous of Pegasus."

Spica nodded in agreement, "This guy was raised in sanctuary by our Pope since he was just a baby! Then all gold saints trained him in turns… no wonder he can don cloth by the age of seven!" Spica explained, "Actually he is suppose to be candidate for Sagittarius gold cloth but it's still missing so he don Bronze cloth for the time being. Or so I heard… "

"And Greg is jealous because he has been training for years to don unicorn cloth, but his progress is as slow as snail… I think his master is about give up on him!" Leda explained, "And here this Pegasus guy get everything he wanted and got his cloth when he was younger than Greg!

Spica shook his head, "How pathetic…"

"Oh…" Shun nodded with his eyes wide open, eager to absorb the story. "What's his name?"

"…"

"…"

"Leda? Spica?" Shun called.

Leda grinned sheepishly, "Err Shun… in fact this guy…"

"Only Gold saints called him by his name, lower ranked saint either didn't know or don't want to know because it's Asian name…" Spica explained. "Funny he was raised in Greece but got Asian name like yours."

"Oh… so you don't know…" He really wanted to know what kind of people Pegasus was, Shun didn't know why but deep down there was unexplainable curiosity. Or maybe it because of that…

Spica scratched his head, "But Shun… why you want to know this guy? He got quite a reputation… but that's all…"

Shun smiled at that, "It's nothing… well, where we are going now?" Shun asked politely.

* * *

**Ten minutes later…**

The future Andromeda saint was lost in Rodorio, he was separated from Leda and Spica when they entered a very crowded market. Shun who had the smallest body was swept away by the crowd and end up somewhere he didn't know. Well, he didn't know always everywhere of Rodorio. He remembered his master Daidalos told him he would be in a Tavern called Silver Lyre that located near the village hall. Shun looked around to find someone he could ask but unfortunately no one was around in that alley.

Shun almost jumped in joy when he saw someone running to his direction, a teenager with blue hair dressed in sanctuary standard training clothes in brown color. His face was a bit scary but there was no one he can chose anyway, "Hello Mister… I…" he spoke in Greek fluently, "May I require your help? I am looking for…"

DeathMask stopped abruptly, then snarled at the poor boy. "What brat? Can't you see I am busy looking for my own brat?"

No, Shun can't see that… "But I just…"

"Look… the brat I am looking for got brown messy hair and brown eyes, a bit taller than you and look kind of foreign like you. Yeah… an Asian! " DeathMask listed on which only made the younger boy blinking in confusion, "Have you see that kind of brat?"

Shun shook his head, "No Sir but… I…"

"Oh shit!" DeathMask cursed, "So you didn't? Whatever… I gotta go! Bye little girl! Hope you can find your mama on your own!" Deathmask said as petted Shun's green hair then sprinted to who knows where.

The trainee blinked then shouted, "But I am a boy! And I am not looking for my mother!" But the Cancer saint was long gone on his search of the missing Pegasus saint.

Review please!

Next in Holy war ARC: Broken bond, and everlasting fate.

* * *

**I cut the scene between Shaka and Mu for flash black in next chap and also... because I am scared of idea lacking ^^ Hope I can add other bronze like Hyoga and Shiryu... **

**PLEASE tell me what you like and dislike from my story in your review, I want and NEED to know! AND if there is anything you don't understand please say so in review or PM me! I will reply!And also I NEED your vote because I am torn between letting Shun to stay with his original mentor (Daidalos) or Shaka, yes... in next chap Shaka, AIolia and Tenma will meet SHUN! XDDD  
**

**I might add extra author note later...**

**Trivia 2 :**

**What Shaka destroyed... well maybe some of you don't remember Aiolos left a message that he carved on the wall of his temple and it's hidden, how Aiolos manage to have time to do that when he escaped from sanctuary is beyond me =_= I like to cover plot hole in classic SS but I can't cover everything...If there any fanfics writer who can cover ALL well... you deserve a crown =_=  
**

**Statement that Mitsumasa Kido should send 500 instead of 100 taken from Q&A column that narrated by Shion, it's been said there Shion though out of 100 there are 10 who manage to get their cloth is a miracle and commented if it was him, Shion will send 500 instead ^^**

**I change the part when Mu wondered why Shaka didn't knock, because I TOTALLY FORGOT that Mu's tower HAVE NO door. Even though in LC they have a door =_= Maybe it's Mu who barricade it. Why? Someone should ask Mu that... but in episode G Aldebaran said Mu HATE to meet people, well... from how many obstacle you got there say much and added he took decision to close his door permanently -.-'I just realized Mu is a bit screwed... but then again living in the top of the world for years will drive anyone insane. I don't know since when KIki live with Mu... anyone knows? **

**The reason I like LC is because it makes sense! And Tenshirogi didn't make everyone to rush in 12 hours in ever single F***ing battle they had! Seriously! once in sanctuary arc is OK, twice in Poseidon and will be third if you count asgard, AND in HAdes sanctuary you gotta rush in 12 F***ing hours again? And then in underworld and Elysion they gotta rushing with time AGAIN! NOt to mention Saori keep get captured or busy to postponed the end of the world! Drowned in tower, in a jar, then in a river! I mean... is there NO other idea or what?How Kurumada can write 4 war all done in 24 hours is beyond me... and now ND gotta be done in 3 days -.-' I bet Heaven arc should be done in 1 week DXplease... there is nothing wrong with war that need more than 1 week to be done! Someone got to tell Kurumada-sensei to stop doing this, just this rushing in 12 hours or 3 days or 1 week! It can't work forever...  
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	4. Reunion of Intertwined Soul

**Sorry for long author note, if possible I don't want to write any but… some things need to be explained here to avoid confusion and I don't want something I put effort into going to waste because no one notice… **

**I am just realized I didn't put a very important explanation about Tenma regarded as future Sagittarius Saint, and that he was raised in sanctuary as gold trainee. It's simply because everyone would be suspicious if they raised a boy in 12 temples that 'just' a bronze candidate. So Saga made that one up, off course lower rank don't know about Tenma's origin. No one want to know Tenma's name simply because it's Asian, and it heavily implied there is a prejudice about race in sanctuary in manga. They keep say Greece this and that but they are more leaning to European saint only… funny they forgot their Pope is Asian or maybe Lemurian considered Greek. **

**Shield/Scutum saint named Gardna is a saint I make up to be Jabu's master. This cloth does exist but no one have it I think… He pretty much exported from YugiOh card Big Shield Gardna XDDD. I also export characters from other manga, Agni from Kuroshitsuji… servant of Prince Soma from India. I change his character a bit too… he is quite a bishie you know? Sorry for Agni's fans if you dislike what I did to him... after all Shaka is not prince Soma =_=  
**

**Interaction between Shun and Tenma is purely friendship so don't get any idea… just DON'T! THIS IS NOT YAOI! Sorry… for what I write made me feel I need to shout this out!**

**Sana: I know Shun is not implied as Alone's reincarnation in canon, but I did this because my story will last till one more arc after this one ended. I just need the purest soul is always the same soul in all era but does not mean they are the same people! Sui, sadly this Kagaho's brother have nothing to do with my I refuse to belief in previous life Shun died because of suicide!  
**

ps: Once again I get caught in 'I want to finish this chap till this happen no matter what' so... added with my habit for come out with plot bunnies on the spot the story at least become 3 times longer than I though. And somehow I can't satisfy myself with a short one... -.-' So excuse my mistake... and I change the title for this chap!

pss: _I ALMOST FORGOT THAT I WILL MERGE CHAP 2 AND 3, SO this two I fixed it a bit and merge it... actually these two chaps since the very beginning meant to be one chap, just go reread it and you can tell... it was just me that time who was too impatient to post new chap! Added with fact my exam was just ahead so... -.-' I am so relieved I merge it at last!  
_

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* * *

**

**~Reunion of Intertwined Soul, the everlasting fate~**

Cepheus Daidalos sipped his tea calmly as he listened Crystal Saint talking fondly of his new disciple, he didn't drink anything alcoholic even though he was in a tavern because it's not wise to be drunk when sun still up out there and his disciples were exploring the city. It was a rare event for most of 88 Athena Saints were gathered in sanctuary to introduce their disciples. Daidalos almost disappointed when he though this kind of event would never been held again in sanctuary due to tragedy seven years ago. But the Pope deemed it necessary to keep in contact with their comrades and built trust among their disciples, future Saint of Athena. So far he was pleased that he could exchange knowledge of training and also quirks trainee from certain country had.

Crystal Saint was disciple of Aquarius gold saint, but he was polite and friendly. He was nothing like rumored coldness his master was infamous for. Daidalos smiled when he saw Crystal shook his head, "I only have two disciple Daidalos, and Isaac is a very energetic and strong willed boy… he will be a good saint in the future. But he is a bit hyper sometimes…"

The Cepheus saint nodded in agreement, "Energetic and strong willed… definitely a personality a future saint need." He muttered, "And the other one? He is one of new trainees we got this year, isn't he? One of 100 boys from Japan… one of my disciple also one of them." He asked curiously. "I think Shun know your disciple…"

Crystal chuckled softly, "Well… I am sure yours know mine, and about Hyouga… it's almost unnerving how alike his personality with my master." At raised eyebrow of his friend, he quickly added. "Not exactly, it's his bearing that had uncanny resemblance of my master. If we ignore he is quite a family person… other than that…" Crystal trailed off but paused, as he can't help to hold his laugh.

"Oi oi…" Daidalos chided, "I know teaching mini-version of your master is amusing, but I want to know if Hyouga have any problem with our saint training?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

The disciple of Aquarius saint titled his head to the side, recalling Hyouga's training with Isaac. "Well… he just started but so far 'no' technically." He answered calmly.

Daidalos sighed at that, he expected that much. Shun was an intelligent child and quick to understand concept of cosmos but in sparing he kept get pummeled to the ground, and never countered any attack. As if he is afraid of harming his opponents. "Mitsumasa Kido… Do you think this Japanese man gave our disciple quite a proper preparation before sending them to us?"

Before Crystal saint could answer that question someone cut him in, "I don't think so…"

The two mentors looked to the source of voice, a saint with dark purple cloth was walking toward their table. He had bigger build than Daidalos, wild and long black hair, gray eyes, and tanned skin. Crystal smiled at their newcomer as Daidalos pulled a chair for him to sit. "Hello Scutum saint, Gardna… long time no see since you visited my island last year." Daidalos greeted him as their eyes trailed the Scutum saint till he took his seat.

Crystal cleared his throat, "But Gardna … why did you say that? I though you taught a trainee named Greg for Unicorn Cloth, is there any Japanese trainee assigned to you?" He asked curiously.

The Algerian saint groaned at the name Crystal mentioned, "That Greg? That's a lost case Crystal! I told that brat many times…" He trailed off with frustrated tone, "That stupid big body is not gonna help him to gain his cloth! I already got a new disciple named Jabu! Japanese like yours… not perfect but good enough for me compared to that muscle brain Greg!"

Daidalos and Crystal cringed, that was quite a sore subject. Even among silver saints there was some people who trained their disciple for brute strength instead of cosmos. For what reason they didn't know, but that's not a wise choice because a well trained trainee in cosmos can easily beat anyone three times their size. Gardna was a saint, who despite of his bulky builds never ever though brute strength of raw muscle was important for a saint. He hated it when his disciple mistaken his body build as a reason for him to be so strong, that's why Greg didn't gain his cloth even though he already in training for ten years when usually it finished after seven years. Either you failed and became mere cannon fodder or gained your cloth, Greg even not qualified to take the test.

Daidalos took a sip of his drink then said nervously, "Please don't tell me you have threw your disciple off of a cliff like you said you wanted to do last year…" A pause, "You didn't do it, do you?"

A smirk painted on Gardna's lips, "I wish…" Daidalos and Crystal almost fell from their seat, "Come on… I didn't do it! But that brat is pretty much dead…"

Their eyes widened in disbelief as they straightened their posture, "What did you say?" Crystal saint asked incredulously.

Algeria is training ground with the lowest death rate so there was no way Greg died in training. That's pretty much the very reason the boy managed to survive despite of his slow progress, and Gardna hated to kill needlessly. He was never one who pushed his disciple to death despite of how many death threats he roared every day.

"I don't like Greg but he was almost dead because he deserve it… I have no pity for fools who get themselves killed!" Gardna muttered calmly, " Well, he was still alive. And back to your first question… Jabu, the boy I trained is prepared with quite a good training for a boy their age in Japan, but off course that training is nothing compared to saint training." He explained as shrugged nonchalantly. "The boy got a bit of issue, he has crush for a girl named… err… ojou? Yeah, Ojou from his homeland, but that's what driving the boy to go through my training with gusto everyday, so I didn't give a damn." Then concluded, "So basically this Japanese guy certainly tried to prepare them even though not up to our standard, but better than nothing at all…"

"…"

"Well… but you didn't throw Greg off of the cliff, do you?" Daidalos asked again nervously.

"I didn't! Who am I? Guilty? I never pummeled my disciple around volcano and laugh when they tripped and fell to molten lava!" Gardna yelled indignantly, "If you are so curious… it's not my fault the brat almost got himself killed when he provoked Pegasus Saint." Then he quickly covered his mouth in horror, and then looked around if anyone other than Daidalos and Crystal heard him. His friends however paled at the last name the Scutum Saint mentioned. Luckily everyone in the tavern was too busy minding their own business, including few saints who didn't mind drunk when sun still up. "Oops…"

Daidalos hissed through clenched teeth, "Your previous disciple was almost killed by Pegasus?" He asked in low voice that even Crystal who sat beside him could barely hear it.

Gardna shook his head, "No, you see… as all of us know, well trained saint versus muscle head three times his size would result to the muscle head to get pummeled to the ground." He whispered nonchalantly, "Few months ago Pegasus accompanied Capricorn Shura to my training ground for a short visit, and if there was any trainee he would like to take as his disciple. Somehow Greg managed to be alone with Pegasus when I and Lord Shura was talking, the brat tried to provoke Pegasus and attacked him."

"And what happened?" Crystal asked in low voice.

The Algerian Saint shrugged, "Dunno for sure… but Greg left a nice body print on the ground, me and Lord Shura only took our eyes off of them for five minutes…" He said nonchalantly, "But mostly Greg was unharmed, all bruise he had I think is from when Pegasus crushed him to the ground. I doubt Pegasus attacked him even once before that…" Then he sighed, "As for why I don't care that brat died or injured gravely is because it's Lord Shura himself who almost sliced him in two with Excalibur." He whispered carefully so no one but Crystal and Daidalos could hear him.

Daidalos and Crystal gasped in shock, "Lord Shura did?" Crystal asked, he only ever heard about Capricorn Shura from his master but that only about his reputation as a very loyal saint with stoic demeanor. But then again Camus never ever liked sharing any information about his fellow gold saints, all he knew was overheard and never been told by Camus' own volition.

Gardna sighed, "Lord Shura was so furious when Greg started to gloat about his desire for power, and that he never cared about Athena to provoke Pegasus to attack him." That earned him choked gasp from the two saints. "Yes… the brat deserve it, Pegasus seemed furious and so am I…" He shook his head, "But gold saint is faster than us and before I knew it… Greg was..."

The silver saint of Cepherus gulped, it never ceased lower ranked saint of how powerful their gold saints were. "As much as I hate to ask this… what happened after that?" He asked calmly.

The sound of tapped finger on the table sounded louder as Crystal Saint and Cepherus saint was holding their breath, anxious of what enraged gold saint did afterward. "I sent my disciple to healer's hut, major blood loss but his vital organs were not harmed. And then I apologized off course… but it seems Lord Shura didn't hear me; he seems a bit off after he almost killed my disciple. Well I think Lord Shura though he had killed Greg, that boy barely had any cosmos so once he gravely injured… it's like he is already dead to us." A pause then he added in lower voice. "You know why… Lord Shura didn't take it well…"

Crystal Saint looked down, "Sagittarius Aiolos… for Capricorn Shura, killing one of us, even a disgraceful trainee must be quite an unpleasant reminder."

"Che…" Daidalos scowled under his breath, "And here I think that for sanctuary to hold a convention means everything can be as it was before that tragedy…"

Gardna narrowed his eyes as his mind wandered to what happened few months ago, "Daidalos… wound in our skin can be easily healed and disappeared without trace." He muttered then jerked his thumb to his chest, "But in here… it can last even beyond death."

* * *

Flashback

_He had caught Pegasus alone and managed to corner him, asking what's so great about him that made him treated in such special way in sanctuary. Pegasus was half of his age, with small build and looked so frail compared to Greg even in his Pegasus cloth. The boy had ignored him and refused to answer or fighting him. He hated the boy because Pegasus was granted everything Greg had worked hard to get. And then he tried to taunt Pegasus with insult to Athena, goddess who he never believed even exist more than a mere myth. _

_He almost overjoyed when Pegasus' face turned to absolute fury, his face that looked so innocent like a child that never went through saint training had turned to a face of furious warrior. And before he knew it, Greg found his face crushed to the ground with a force he couldn't believe such a frail body could have. He stand up shakily as his whole body felt sore after the impact, and that damned Pegasus dared to walk away as if he had finished Greg off. The trainee was about to open his mouth to throw another insult, but a roar he knew so well came right from his back. _

"_Greg! How dare you said such a thing!" Gardna roared to his disciple from behind. _

_The Algerian trainee spun with terror painted on his face, he though his master and Shura was far away to hold their conversation. "Master… I am just…" _

_Tenma turned back, his face was still furious and struggling to hold back his killing intent. "Shura… " He called then suddenly his eyes widened. "Shura! Stop!" Gardna had no clue of what Tenma was talking about, but soon before he knew it the boy attacked Shura who was in the middle of executing an Excalibur wave that aimed to his disciple._

"_**Excalibur!"**_

"_**Pegasus Ryu Sei Ken!"**_

_Blood splattered to the ground, and his disciple fell on his own pool of blood. Gardna's face twisted in horror, as he rushed to Greg's side. He had no much hope to think Greg was still alive but he was! His pulse was weak but he could be saved! Then he turned his attention to Shura, shocked the Gold saint seemed to be unharmed and no trace of attack aimed to his surrounding, Gardna then realized Pegasus never aimed Shura but attacked to get on the way of Excalibur and decreased it's power, bent it's way slightly but enough to keep his disciple from sliced in two. _

_Pegasus looked at him with intense gaze, and Gardna couldn't help but unnerved. "He is still alive! Major blood loss but once you sent him to healer's hut he would be fine!" _

_He nodded in agreement, "Right! Hevelius! Goyle! Come here with a stretcher! Greg is injured!" He yelled telepathically. Soon two trainees rushed to his side, startled at how many blood soaked the ground. Gardna wasted no time to explain as he commanded the trainees to put Greg on the stretcher and sent them to healer's hut. _

_Gardna calmly listed any available choice he could do after this; get his disciple killed for treachery seemed inevitable. But Shura had not prevented any effort of saving Greg; he could always stupidly hope the infamous loyal Capricorn Shura will just walk away as if it never happened. Yeah, as if… "Lord Shura…" He began, "I have no excuse for my failure, my disciple have dishonored Saint's ethic code and Athena herself. Please forgive me…" He said as bowed deeply, "As for my disciple… I…" Gardna looked up slowly, Shura seemed ignoring him. Maybe he really would be doomed, Gardna thought grimly. Maybe him and the rest of occupants of Algeria training ground were doomed._

"_Shura…" Tenma's voice snapped Gardna from his thought, the boy was right in front of the Capricorn saint, looking up to Shura intensely. "Shura… let's go home…" The Scutum saint could guess that Shura was in no condition to hear Tenma, and he was startled when Shura suddenly fell on his knees. Tenma groaned as crossed his arms on his chest, "Are you there Shura?" He asked again, because Shura was kneeling Tenma was pretty much in eye level with him._

_Gardna gaped in shock when suddenly Tenma took off Shura's headgear then delivered a head butt right on Shura's forehead. In theory it was a very wrong way of using the said technique, because the point was __striking__ a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead. "Pegasus? What did you have done to Lord Shura?" Gold saints trained him so he must be aware of... Err… on second thought Head butt is not a technique he though would fit the image of gold saints. And he doubted Tenma wanted to harm Shura in any way._

_Tenma openly ignored Gardna or maybe he was just too busy with Shura, the Capricorn saint was indeed despite of being a gold saint can't help but became dizzy because of the last attack, his eyes were swirling because of the impact. "SHUUUUURAAA! Snap out of it!" And now Pegasus was shaking the gold saint back and forth much to Gardna's disbelief. "Come on! We gotta back soon, our report won't delivered themselves! Our duty! Duuuuuty!" _

_The last part got Shura's attention as he snapped awake, "Tenma…" He muttered in a daze._

_Garna gulped nervously but asked what bothered him anyway, despite of the risk. "Erm Pegasus… are you alright? I mean your head and Lord Shura too…"_

_For the first time Garna felt Tenma acknowledged he was there, if he ever remembered that. "Ah… Scutum Saint Garna, you are still here?" Definitely forgotten. "You sure it's ok to leave your disciple in healer's hut without you?"_

_The Scutum saint nodded, "Uhm… yes, and your head?" _

_Pegasus laughed at dumfounded face of Gardna, "Nah… don't worry! Even Shaka said my head is even harder than Aio!" Was Tenma talking about the same Virgo and Leo saint they knew? "And Shura… Oi! Shura! Can we go home now? Our report won't write themselves too!" _

"_Tenma…" Shura sighed, "I was…" _

"_Scutum Saint, Gardna…" Tenma called calmly. _

_The Algerian straightened up; he felt like had been just addressed by his superior. By such a young child, he gasped as his gray eyes met Tenma's. Dusty color of fertile earth, color that supposed to be dull yet looked so vibrant and deep. Why those eyes seemed so… ancient? An eyes that as if had seen so much pain and suffering. "Yes, Sir?" Did he just call a child that was just a bronze saints as Sir?_

"_Me and Capricorn Shura will return to sanctuary because it seems there is nothing to talk about anymore, is there?" Tenma asked calmly, and he didn't wait for Gardna to answer. "As for your disciple…" The Pegasus saint drawled tonelessly, and the Scutum saint hoped he could find a hole. "I have no authority to decide his fate for this violation of saint's code, however… he did it to taunt me. I really hope he didn't mean it…" He added sternly. _

'_Oh please, the boy obviously mean it. That muscle head respected a goddess? He respect me because I am obviously stronger than him!' Gardna thought grimly, "I assure you that… the boy deserve death, as much as I dislike to get my disciple killed in disgrace." Gardna muttered regretfully. _

_Tenma sighed, "Once he recovered, you better dump him to nearest city you think he can live in. And let's say this never happened."_

"_WHAT?" Gardna blurted out in disbelief. _

"_You hear me…" Tenma said tiredly, "No matter what as a saint I can not allow someone like your disciple to stay in our rank, no matter what position he has. So just dump him somewhere you are sure he can survive and write him as run away trainee!"_

_Shura snapped back to his sense as Tenma's offer to Gardna sank in, "Tenma!" He stood up abruptly, "You can't just let that boy… to… he has…" _

_Tenma rolled his eyes, "I am so angry that I want to wash his face with dirt again until even his master can't recognize him anymore!" Tenma stated grumpily which made Gardna gulped nervously, "But seriously Shura! That boy not even meant to be a saint in the first place! We don't like him in our order… so we dump him out of the order!" _

"_But Tenma! To be so lenient…" Shura growled at the boy who barely half of his size. "This boy threatened you… insulting our goddess, you think we will just let this slip?" _

_The Pegasus didn't back down even when Shura towered before him, "Oh come on! You even didn't really want to kill that boy!" He said as threw his arms to emphasize his point. _

_Shura was taken back for a moment but quickly regained his composure, "I have to kill that disgrace! It's a duty that we…"_

_Tenma raised an eyebrow at that, then turned his attention to Gardna who somehow had became their bystander. "You have to… yes… as a saint we have to…" He corrected absentmindedly, "Scutum Gardna, that boy is no longer your disciple right? You will dump him somewhere once he recovered, right?" _

_Gardna's eyes went wide in shock as Tenma's words sank in; the boy was trying to get him to void Shura's duty of eliminating Greg. Once the boy was no longer his charge, not Shura not any saint was obligated to eliminate Greg. "Yes…" He answered curtly; he dared not to say more in presence of a gold saint._

_Tenma beamed at that, "There, so Shura… the bastard no longer our business so we can off on our own merry way…" _

"_Tenma!" Shura growled in frustrated voice, "You… can't just…" _

_The Pegasus saint smiled as he delivered finishing blow, in which Shura had choice but follow him. "I think we can get Aio for a nice loooong talk later, shall we?" _

_Shura paled at that, "Tenma, you know that I don't want Aiolia to…" _

"_Save it!" Tenma snapped, "We will talk with Aio later, even if you like it or not!" He turned his attention to Gardna, in which the Scutum saint though 'Oh, so I am exist again?' "Take care of your EX-disciple Scutum saint, and see you later!" he beamed as dragged Shura who no longer could say even a word of protest, and after a flash of cosmos both of them disappeared to the thin air. _

End of Flashback

* * *

"And that's how I ended up dumping Gred to the nearest town, and get myself a new trainee for Unicorn cloth…" He said gleefully.

"…"

"…"

Gardna groaned at dumbfounded face of Crystal and Daidalos, "Come on! At least I didn't throw him off of a cliff!"

"And we suppose that's a good thing… HOW?" Daidalos asked incredulously.

Crystal chuckled nervously, "Daidalos… I think he was talking about no one died in the end. It's good enough, right?"

BANG!

Daidalos was about to retort when suddenly the door of the tavern was slammed open with violent bang. Almost all customers on the tavern were saints, as the Silver Lyre Tavern was famous place for them to do gathering outside sanctuary. All saints blinked at menacing figure of the newcomer, wondering what this trainee was doing because they recognized the clothing as their standard training clothes. Of all saints in the room Lizard Misty suddenly approached the man nervously, this invited confusion, as Misty was one of the strongest silver saint.

Misty was slowly regretted his choice to approach the newcomer, but he though someone had to do it. "Uhm… welcome Lord DeathMask… may I know do you need something?" The sour face of his really said he needed something, and at the mention of his name all saints on the room gasped.

DeathMask snorted at horrified face of occupants on the room then turned to the silver saint, "You are… Aphrodite's disciple right?"

The Lizard saint gulped, "Uhm… not officially, Lord Aphrodite only help me with my training once in a while." That was true, most of gold saint didn't bother to take disciple, as they were busy with their duty. And if they had spare time they would use it for Tenma, one of few reason the boy became target of envy. Once in a while to prevent pent up jealousy few gold saints went to training ground to supervise lower ranked saints, off course it was done in group but sometimes few trainees who catch Gold saint's attention could get 1 on 1 tutoring.

The Italian saint rolled his eyes, "Well… good, looks how much Aphrodite rub off on you and I won't imagine how if you are his official disciple." He muttered nonchalantly, "Anyway…" He took a deep breath, "DID ANYONE SAW A BRUNETTE ASIAN BOY WITH BROWN EYES? WEARING RED SHIRTS, PANTS, AND WHITE CLOTH?"

Everyone thought they were about to be deaf at volume DeathMask used, and Misty almost fainted on the spot for being the closest one to DeathMask. The silver trio was holding their heads as their eyes swirling, Daidalos stood up abruptly wincing at headache he got. "Ouch… that must be cosmos enhanced…" He concluded wryly.

Crystal was the second one who managed to recover, "Yes… my master did complaining about DeathMask is the loudest among them when he though I didn't pay attention." The Crystal saint mused, "That's Lord DeathMask alright… the most vicious one among gold saints."

Gardna groaned, "Aww my poor ears…"

DeathMask wondered why lower ranked saint was so damn weak, even Tenma… well if it was him DeathMask yelled at the boy would not cringe instead he would yell back. And they said Tenma was a weak kid when they never saw him fighting. He spotted three saints seemed quite fine when the others were not. He walked to their table haughtily then pointed at the one who sat in the middle, "You are… Camus' disciple right? Corona Borealis saint… Crystal."

Crystal blinked but quickly regained his composure, he bowed politely as greeted his superior. "Yes… I am the first disciple of Aquarius Camus, do you require something from me Lord DeathMask?"

The Italian saint smirked at politeness of Crystal saint, "As expected of Camus, very good in teaching his student some manners." He muttered gleefully, "Anyway… is the answer of my previous question is yes or no? Did you see any Asian boy?"

The trio looked at each other, "Well…" Crystal began, "If it's Asian boy around seven…" He trailed off.

"He is seven!" DeathMask snapped impatiently.

Daidalos smiled nervously, "Uhm… as you know Lord DeathMask, usually it would be easy to find a boy with Asian feature in Rodorio but… today many saints bring their disciple with them, and due to recent event. There were at least seventy out of one hundred Japanese boys wandering in Rodorio by now." He pointed out nervously, around seventy due to in just few months around thirty percent of trainees reported died or run away because of harsh training. Something that was not strange to happen every year.

The Italian saint paled at implication of Daidalos' explanation, "What?"

"In fact…" Gardna added, "Three of us have Japanese trainee wandering around in Rodorio by now, mine is brunette but I am sure you aren't looking for one who wear purple shirt. Right milord?"

DeathMask was fighting an urge to bang his head to the nearest wall, and he recalled just last month Tenma was running from main temple to Taurus to tell all of them he had mastered cosmos suppression perfectly. One reason of why it was so difficult to track him down whenever he disappeared this month. It was easy to look for him in Rodorio because of his striking foreign look and red clothing, but there were around seventy Asian now in Rodorio? He recalled Tenma also took his robe with him, so his cloth can't be a good clue.

The silver trio thought DeathMask was about to snap, well… if his reputation as gold saint that barely sane was anything to go by. "You three… " He growled as pointed at them one by one then jerked his thumb to Misty who was still struggling to recover. "And him… Camus' brat!" Crystal needed few second to register that DeathMask was addressing him, "Four of you go and look for all dark brown haired Asian boys out there! I need a brat named Tenma! And fast!" He barked.

Gardna blinked, "Uhm… Lord DeathMask, you are looking for Pegasus Tenma?"

DeathMask gave a look that as if asking if he was an idiot, "Who else?"

"Uhm… Lord DeathMask… if it's Pegasus." Misty trailed off as walking slowly to their table, "He even among Bronze saint has a very unusual strong cosmos, isn't that how usually you and rest of gold saints track him down?" He asked nervously recalling what Aphrodite ever told him about their goose chase.

"Sadly the brat learned how to suppress his cosmos since last month." DeathMask huffed, "Wonder what that Buddha was thinking to teach him that!"

BANG

"MASTER!" Leda and Spica yelled as storming to the tavern with panic clearly written on their face.

Daidalos raised an eyebrow, then his eyes widened when he realized that he was short one disciple, "Where is Shun?" He asked, hoping the frail Japanese boy to follow his fellow trainees to enter the tavern, but he didn't.

"He is missing!" Leda answered.

The Cepheus saint couldn't resist his urge to slap his forehead, and of all disciples he had it was Shun who was lost. Due to Shun just started his training his cosmos was weak and they had to track him down manually, "How?" He demanded.

"Uhm…" Spica fidgeted, "We were swept away by sudden wave of crowd in Rodorio market, and because Shun is err… small, I think he was swept away farther than us." He explained nervously.

DeathMask was suddenly overcome with disgusted feeling, like he had walked pass by something important without knowing. "Okay… so your brat is also missing, I guess… we can look for yours too along the way." He grumbled halfheartedly, he didn't want to show sympathy but no one deserved dying of worry for his or her disciple.

The silver saints were surprised DeathMask offered assistance, Daidalos bowed politely. "Thank you Lord DeathMask, I assure you… I will find both Pegasus and Shun."

Crystal smiled at his friend then asked, "So what's this Shun looks like?"

Daidalos sheepishly described his disciple, "Err… He had green hair and eyes with the same color, a bit small for boy his age and…" He trailed off, should he tell them the most striking trait of Shun that he looks like a pretty girl?

DeathMask blinked and recalled the child he saw before, "I didn't see any Asian boy, but I saw a little girl that matched your description perfectly…" He muttered as rubbed his chin with thoughtful look, at Daidalos' widened eyes Deathmask frowned, "What? You are looking for a boy not girl, right?"

"Uhm…" Leda fidgeted nervously, not sure if he could speak on his master's behalf. Especially this person was a gold saint, even though he didn't wear his cloth and looked like some kind of bandit instead. Bet if this guy wear suit he would look like a mafia instead of a saint. "I think… there is a little bits my master left out about Shun's looks." He flinched at Deathmask's demanding look, "Shun… he looks like a girl." He muttered timidly.

Spica decided to help his brother as he added, "So maybe… you _did_ see him Lord DeathMask…"

"You can't be serious!" DeathMask growled in frustration, how the hell there was someone out there that can have the same issue as Aphrodite? On second though Aphrodite did a good job in reproducing his silver clone that currently standing not far for him, DeathMask made a mental note to warn Daidalos to keep his pretty boy disciple away from Aphrodite till convention ended.

Daidalos looked down, "Err… it's true Shun is a little androgynous…" He muttered sheepishly, not sure why he was embarrassed for some reason.

Spica can't resist temptation to retort, so he did. "A little? Master! You gave Shun an amazon mask when he came to Andromeda Island because you think he was a girl!" Crystal and Garna snickered at blushing Daidalos.

Daidalos was not thankful Spica reminded him the reason he was embarrassed to point out Shun's androgynous looks. But Leda came to his rescue, well… not really. He was just can't resist to remind Spica of his own embarrassing moment. "And you looked like a lovesick puppy when the first time you saw her…. Err… him!" He said smugly.

Spica blushed deep red, then retorted. "Oh yeah? Like you know that…"

"ENOUGH!" Deathmask yelled which scared the two trainees out of their wits. "Stop your bickering or else!" Then turned his attention back to silver saints, "So like I said…" He trailed off grumpily, "Let's move out and look for them, Daidalos… you are going with me! Let's hope your brat is smart enough to not wandering too far from the last place I saw him. And as for you… Scutum and Crystal, look for Pegasus Tenma for me will you?" They nodded obediently, "Misty… stay here, and watch Daidalos' brat… we don't need more missing brats!" Misty nodded.

Daidalos nodded in agreement, "Thank you milord, Misty… thanks. Can you tell Marin to take care of June a bit longer when she come back later?"

Misty shrugged, "No problem…"

Leda and Spica blinked, they can take care of himself in Rodorio! It was not the first time they came here! But they were too scared to say otherwise to a gold saint, and suddenly they remembered. "Um Lord DeathMask? You are looking for Pegasus?" Leda asked timidly.

"Yeah… so what?"

Leda answered timidly, "We saw him around twenty minutes ago near Lugonis Florist, leaping around rooftops."

DeathMask sighed, "Twenty minutes ago? Tenma is a saint! Twenty minutes is enough for him to run from east side of Rodorio to the west side… when he is lazy." He sighed, "Anyway… let's move out, Tenma can take care of himself but Daidalos… I just realized the last time I saw your brat; he was not in a good part of Rodorio. How the hell he ended up in slum area anyway? He might be in trouble by now. Especially with that face…" He muttered grimly as walked out of the Tavern followed by Silver saints. Daidalos paled at what he heard and prayed Shun would be all right.

* * *

**Whitechapel, slum district of Rodorio **

Shun was walking around the alley tiredly, he had try to find his own way or looking for someone he could ask but unfortunately the only living being he encountered after that scary man was stray cats. He was lonely here, and he didn't know where he was. It as if he was wandering around aimlessly in a labyrinth, and this time no one was around to help him, not Ikki, not Master Daidalos, June, Spica, Leda…. No one. He didn't want to depend on anyone too much but at the time like this at least he wanted a companion.

Shun was startled when he bumped at someone's leg, and he fell flat on his back. Groaning at the pain, then sat up shakily. He blinked when realized he was shadowed then looked up, there were two men who were staring at him. Both of them wore ragged clothes, messy hair that saying they didn't know comb had been invented. Their teeth were yellow, they gritted their teeth menacingly at him with a cigarette on their mouth. They were easily three times his size with scars on their arms and face. Shun was never one who marked someone by their looks but he can't help but think these two were up to no good, and especially not good for him.

He gulped nervously, "I am sorry Sir!" He apologized politely, then stand up and dusting his clothes. "I was spacing out so I didn't pay attention to where I was going…" He explained sheepishly as backed down slowly, silently counting from one to three to turn around and run away. "So please excuse me…"

But when he was in the mid of turning around one of them caught him by his shoulder, and the Japanese trainee winced at how hard the man's grip on his shoulder. "Wait a minute little girl…" Shun was never feel so scared when someone mistaken his gender in daily basis, but this man made it sounded like spell of doom for him. "You didn't expect a sweet apology like that would be enough, hm?"

* * *

**Another part of Rodorio**

Hyouga was seriously regretting his decision to join Isaac on his exploration, he could walk around on his own without Isaac once he got a copy of Rodorio's map from Crystal saint, but Isaac's dejected face ruined his resolve. He wanted to buy a rose just for a small offering to his mother, one he will throw away to the ocean once they returned to Siberia. Rose can wait for later but accompanying hyper child like Isaac was really draining, and he knew his master asked them to stick with each other not for Isaac to keep watch on him, it's another way around. Crystal saint winked at him when he let them go, then looked at jumpy Isaac, no doubt that meant _'keep Isaac out of trouble'_ che… But as if adding to his misery when Isaac excitedly dragging him to an ice cream stall they met Jabu. And now they were sitting on a bench right beside the ice cream stall.

"So!" Isaac began cheerfully, "You are one of 100 Japanese boys who started saint training few months ago like Hyoga?" He asked Jabu who in the mid of licking his blueberry ice cream.

Jabu nodded as licked the bits that left on his lips, "Yep! I am training in Algeria for Unicorn cloth!"

And how these two get along so fast didn't make him happy in a way, because 1 plus 1 was two hyper kids. And the fact Jabu got himself lost that he was separated from older trainees who accompanied him, it guaranteed they will stuck till it was time to return to Silver Lyre tavern, because Jabu's master was there too. Jabu refused to look for older trainees from Algeria because they kept teasing him as lover boy; Hyoga thought that was true though.

"Hey Hyoga! Why you didn't order an ice cream instead of an ice tea?" Isaac asked curiously.

Hyoga calmly sucked the straw; "I want to drink tea so I ordered an ice tea in such a hot weather…" He deadpanned then turned his face to another direction.

Isaac gave him a look, "But we drink tea almost everyday in Siberia! And in such a cold place like our training ground we can't enjoy ice cream!" He whined.

And Hyoga gave him an answer that was as cool as cucumber, "Were you accusing that I suppose to be bored of tea?" He asked calmly, "How about you? We saw plenty of ice in Siberia that I wonder how you are not sick to see an ice cream here…"

Isaac didn't catch the sarcasm at all, "But ice in Siberia is tasteless!"

How Hyoga hoped he could meet Shun, Shiryuu and Ikki, so he can dump these two on their own. His old group knew what so called minding their own business, Hyoga didn't hate Isaac but he was too hyper for Hyoga. "Okay… look, can you please talk with Jabu about something? I want to think, and I need my quality time." He pleaded in desperate tone.

"About your mama?" Isaac asked curiously.

Hyoga almost growled, "Yes! Now go talk to Jabu or else…" He said as turned his face away to look at the sky, ah… a cute butterfly…

Isaac shrugged; it must be the hot weather that caused Hyoga to be so grumpy. Then he turned to Jabu, "So Jabu… I know you guys got send by a rich man for saint training, but you must have something in your mind to be a saint."

Jabu nodded as his face became dreamy and red, Hyoga didn't need to hear because he could guess what Jabu would say. "You see… fighting for Athena is cool and all… just like my master, but you know… it's okay for me to have my very own princess I would like to protect right?" Isaac nodded but his face didn't say he really got what Jabu was talking about. "So after six years… I will return to Japan for Saori-ojousama." Then he rubbed the back of his head, as sighing dreamily. "I hope in the future she will welcome me as her knight… Unicorn saint in your service Ojou-sama…"

Silently even though he was not involved in the conversation Hyoga was commenting on his mind, '_As if Jabu… if anything Saori will welcome you as her horse, at the very least in the next six year you will be promoted from horse to unicorn…" _How he wished to tell this hilarious statement to his friends who though Jabu's obsession of Saori was disturbing. And he was sure everyone on his group especially Ikki would be happy to know Jabu was training for Unicorn cloth! How fitting of him!

Isaac in the other hand was quite pleased, Jabu was willing to fight for Athena and he had a girl waiting for him in Japan. It was like story of a knight who fought in battlefield for his country with a princess who was waiting for him, beside no one forbid saint to have a love life! "Cool… so this Ojou is waiting for you in Japan?" Hyoga took a mental note to tell Isaac later that Ojou was not a name; its translation in Greek was lady.

Jabu grinned, "Off course… I saw her looking at the me from balcony when I was about to hop on the bus!"

"Oh!" Isaac somehow felt excited to hear someone's love life, not like he really got about crush and stuff but it sounded fun! And it was like story from books Aquarius Camus left in their hut! "Wow, so it's a romantic separation?"

Once again Hyouga was commenting on his mind, '_because Jabu was the first group to go he didn't know Saori and her grandpa were watching every single group that left. And I bet Jabu even didn't remember her grandpa was there beside her…' _

Jabu huffed proudly, "Yep! And everyday through our harsh training I remind myself that Ojou-sama is waiting for me! Even my master was so pleased of my effort as he kept smiling when he trained me!" He boasted proudly.

"Woah! You are awesome Jabu!" Isaac praised with awe.

'_I bet you were yelling her name in your training as motivation, or some kind of charm. And your master must be thinking that you are hilarious lover boy.' _Hyoga thought amusedly, and in another side of Rodorio Scutum Saint Garna was sneezing in a hot summer day.

"Hyoga! Can I have one more cone?" Isaac asked eagerly.

Hyoga groaned, why his master had to give him all the money? He had to babysit two hyper kids and managed their budget too? "Look, Isaac too many ice cream in such a hot…" He trailed off as looking in horror at how messy Jabu and Isaac was eating their ice cream. They had ice cream around their mouth like moustache, and some stained their clothes. "Isaac! Jabu! Don't make a mess!" He growled as he took a tissue package from his pocket then handed it to them. "Seriously! Both of you should mind your manner! Even if it's just ice cream!"

Jabu rolled his eyes as he wiped his mouth with tissue, "Oh, shut up Hyoga! You spent too much time with Shiryu!"

The future ice saint was counting from one to ten, telling himself that he should get out of here. He could go to look for Shun and Shiryu. He was not sure about Ikki though when he heard about rumor of Death Queen Island. He hopped off of the bench, "Okay… listen!" He said sternly, "I am going to the nearest florist and bookshop! I will give you two enough money to but two more cones each… but I suggest just buy one more and buy yourself water, or other kind of snack!" He said as handed the money to Isaac.

"But Hyoga! This is the first time you come here, you will get lost!" Isaac warned.

Hyoga huffed, as he took out a small folded map from his pocket. "I will not get lost Isaac! I am sure I can manage on my own with this map! So see you later!" He said as turned back.

Isaac stopped Hyoga from going in which the blond boy didn't take kindly as he snarled, "I am sorry Hyoga! But I… you know, I have bad sense of direction." He admitted sheepishly.

"…"

"…"

There goes his plan to looks for his friends, and he thought if it was in the middle of the town Isaac won't get lost. Hyoga recalled Isaac did get lost a couple of time in Siberia, which understandable where everything was white and they found their way home with landmark. "Okay… give me around twenty to thirty minutes. Wait for me here and _don't_ move! I will be back by that time!" He said as walking away slowly ignoring cheerful OK from Isaac.

Unknown to him a tall teenager with deep blue eyes was watching the entire conversation. His lips twitched in amusement as Isaac went back to hop on the bench and ordered two more cones for him and Jabu, then they chatted about something that made both of them laughed in the same time. But the observer had no interest to watch them anymore as he decided to follow Hyoga instead and as he walked pass another pedestrians, they felt some cold air blew out of nowhere in hot summer day.

* * *

And back to our future Andromeda Saint…

**Whitechapel, slum district of Rodorio **

"You didn't expect a sweet apology like that would be enough, hm?" The man snarled at Shun menacingly.

Shun was helplessly tried to free himself from the thug's hold on his waist, his feet were dangling in panic. Shun told himself not to cry because if anything it would just pushed him deeper into trouble, no one could help him now even Ikki. He had to try by himself, "I am really sorry Sir! I didn't meant to annoy you or anything so please let me go!" He couldn't fight so at least he should try to convince these men.

The man turned his face to his friend, grinning evilly. "Hey! This brat is so polite and pretty, not to mention her foreign look! How much she would worth if we sell her, Gotz?"

Gotz smiled at that, "Oh… lots! She is quite a catch!" He commented as licking his lips, his eyes were gleaming with greed. "I bet this brat at least worth three times of usual deal, Sam."

Shun's eyes widened, they wanted to sell him? But he was a human not thing! "Sir! Please let me go!" He squirmed as hard as he could, "I am a boy not girl! And you can't sell human!"

Sam laughed at Shun, "You hear that Gotz? The brat said she was a boy!"

"I am!" Shun was getting desperate as he was almost out of energy to squirm. "My teacher is waiting for me! I am a saint trainee! I need to go back to him!" He hoped if he told them that he was a trainee maybe that can scare them away, because all peoples in Rodorio knew how strong a saint was.

But they laughed at Shun's words, and then glared at the Japanese boy. "You? A saint in training? Like I will believe that… "He snorted, "If you really are one, how if you try to break free from big bad guy like me?" He mocked.

Gotz reached out to touch Shun's cheek, "With skin this white and smooth you think… you can fool…"

"WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE DOING DOWN THERE?" Someone yelled from above and the next thing Shun knew the man who was holding him got a kick printed right on his face.

* * *

Shun yelped when he was thrown away from the impact, but before he could land head first, someone caught him in the midair, and they landed on their feet. Shun blinked as he felt someone was supporting him to stand with standing behind him and one hand on his shoulder, "Hey! Are you alright?" His savior asked as Shun inched away once he regained his strength.

The future Andromeda saint looked at the boy who saved him, the boy had white robe that covered most of his body except his head because he didn't wear the hood. It was a Japanese boy with tanned skin, brown hair and eyes with lighter shade of brown. Shun nodded timidly, "Thank you for helping me…"

The boy grinned, "No problem!"

"Brat! How dare you kicked me on my face!" Sam yelled angrily as stood up shakily, a nice footprint was visible on his face.

Shun yelped and then took hold of the boy's hand, ready to run away from them but the boy didn't bulge even an inch. "Off course I dare! You guys picked on someone one-third your size shamelessly; you deserve more than just that, thugs!" He growled back, "How if you pick someone your size or bigger than you?" He mocked as smirking widely. "And then you can call yourself a man!"

"Someone as big as you brat? You are barely taller than that little girl!" Gotz said as laughing at the boy.

Sam nodded in agreement, "Are you playing hero or something kid? You want to save your princess? How if you go back to your mama and ask her to read you a fairy tale?" He mocked.

The brown haired boy raised an eyebrow, "What princess? He is a boy!"

Silence…

Gotz's left eyebrow twitched, "You didn't really believe bullshit she said, do you?" He asked, "Or maybe you really need get your eyes fixed!"

"My eyes are fine! And I think it's you who fail your biology!" The boy barked back, at dumbfounded look he got he added. "Oh my mistake… I doubt you even ever knew what's biology mean!" He stated haughtily which seethed the thugs in rage, "Anyway… shoo! You better go in five second before I decided your ass worth no mercy!"

And off course they didn't listen as both of the massive built men charged straight, ready to torn the boy apart. Shun was startled when the boy pulled him to dodge to the left side faster than he could see, he took off his robe then threw it right on them. Sam and Gotz yelped in panic when the robe covered their sight and they crashed to the ground.

Shun's eyes widened at how easy the boy toyed the men three times their size, "Wow!" But he was more shocked when he saw the boy without the robe; he knew he ever saw this boy somewhere. He was that Pegasus saint!

Tenma whistled at twitching men underneath his robe, no doubt they hit the ground full force, how idiot! Then he turned back to Shun, "Yo! Hope you won't mind little violence here… by the way you are not from sanctuary right?" At Shun's nod he grinned, "From which training ground? Liberia? Algeria? Or maybe Sicily?" He asked cheerfully.

Before Shun could answer his eyes widened, "Look out! Behind you!"

Tenma sighed as he blocked a punch that aimed to the back of his head without looking back, "Oh please… can't you see I am a saint? How if you start running and I promise won't catch you!" Tenma promised as turned back slowly. Then sighed when another man repeated what his friend did and Tenma caught the fist. "Okay… can you please just run?" He offered again.

Gotz growled, "How that tiny hand could… DAMN BRAT!" he yelled as he tried to apply more force on his fist.

Tenma rolled his eyes, "Okay… this means I get to kick your ass…" He mumbled tiredly then let go of their hand. Their eyes widened when Tenma disappeared from their sight and the next thing they knew their face once again planted on the ground, they were still conscious but then a hit on the back of their head knocked them out cold.

Shun was frozen on the spot as his eyes locked on Tenma, who was dusting his hand complaining about dirty hair, then took his discarded robe and used it as napkin. "Uhm… are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

Tenma blinked at Shun, "Off course! You didn't think two thugs could do anything to a saint, do you?" He asked as raised an eyebrow, at Shun's yelp he quickly added. "Okay, you are just worried… I get that!" He grinned, "By the way… I just realize…"

"Yes?"

"Which training ground you came from again?" Tenma asked curiously.

* * *

**Degel of Bluegrad BookShop**

Flower could wait for later and Hyoga was afraid he would spoil it when wandering around the bookshop. He only had half an hour but he would make the best of it, his blue eyes widened in awe when he saw book of constellation. It was new and printed this year, he liked the old one they had in Siberia but he though a new one like this was better beside it was the same edition! The book unfortunately was in a shelf that higher than the Japanese boy. Hyoga tried to stretch his hand as long as he could; he won't go back to Siberia without it! He was startled when someone's hand reached out right beside his and chilly air stroked his skin gently, Hyoga blinked when the stranger took the book he wanted and handed it to him.

Hyoga bowed politely, "Thank you sir, I can't reach it by myself…" he admitted sheepishly as looked up to the man who helped him. It was a man with white long sleeved shirt and black pants which even though simple gave him a sophisticated look.

"Are you Hyoga?" The man asked with toneless voice.

The blond boy blinked, "I am sir… how do you know my name?" Hyoga asked with shock clearly sipped to his voice.

The man narrowed his eyes, and then said. "Why you want that book Hyoga? A child your age usually won't read a book that thick."

Hyoga was taken back at the question, "Uhm… I don't mind the thickness, this book even though it's thick… in previous edition I like the illustration of constellation, it also provided how to spot it in the sky and mythology behind the said constellation." Hyoga explained, unsure why he complied the man's question. "Uhm I am sorry if I am being rude and all… but do I know you? You feel familiar… somehow."

The man can't help but gave the boy amused look, Hyoga barely started the training but able to feel how similar someone's cosmos with his master's, he had a good intuition. "My name is Aquarius Camus, master of Crystal saint…"

Hyoga's eyes widened, "Master's master?" Then he quickly covered his mouth when realized he was almost yelling because of shock, "I am sorry uhm… Lord Camus, for… being rude." He said unsurely.

Camus shook his head, "Just call me master like you would Crystal, and Hyoga after I paid that for you, would you like to accompany me for the rest of afternoon? I will send a message to Crystal if you agree." The Aquarius saint offered.

The future Cygnus was fighting his urge to jump in happiness, he got to spend his time with his master's master! "Uhm I would love too Master but… you don't have to pay the book for me… master Crystal gave me enough to pay."

"Nonsense…" Camus muttered softly, "All books you have in Siberia hut were bought by me. Library of Siberia is part of my private collection Hyoga, and I wouldn't be happy if you use pocket money Crystal gave… to add one more book to our library." The Aquarius saint explained as he led Hyoga to the cashier.

"Alright master!" Hyoga beamed.

* * *

**Albafica florist**

After they paid the book Camus and Hyoga went to florist shop that was just across the bookshop. Hyoga was so excited when he found so many kind of roses and Camus was quite knowledgeable about flower even though he was no Aphrodite and picked a big rose with the reddest hue among hundreds they put on the display. The staff put the rose inside a transparent cylinder package that filled with jelly, and made few holes on the upper side then gave it to Hyoga inside of a plastic bag.

"Master Camus… may I ask you something?" Hyoga asked politely.

Camus nodded, "Feel free to ask…"

Hyoga beamed, "Is trainees from Andromeda Island, Rozan and Death Queen Island came to this convention?" He asked hopefully.

The Aquarius saint pondered Hyoga's question for a while, "Hm… Cepheus Daidalos, the one who is in charge of Andromeda Island would never miss this kind of social event." He answered and Hyoga's smile widened at that, he could meet Shun! "As for Rozan… the one in charge of that training ground Roushi…" Camus trailed off, wondering how he should explain. "He is too old Hyoga, he never came back to sanctuary for years. And Death Queen Island, well… no one ever stepped out from that island before their training ended." At that Hyoga's shoulder fell, at least Shun was in Rodorio by now.

"Thank you master Camus… and I hope you don't mind I go back to my friends first." He said shyly.

Camus shook his head, "I don't mind… I already met Isaac a couple of times Hyoga." Then sighed, "I am sure you find Isaac as quite handful." At this statement Hyoga blushed deep red, wondering if Camus saw something Hyoga didn't want him to see.

"I guess…" He said as turned his attention back to the road, and they already return to where Hyoga parted with Isaac and Jabu. Hyoga's eyes widened in horror, as he saw no one sat on the bench, and without a word he ran to the ice cream stall leaving Camus behind, "Mister! Where were my friends going to?" He asked in panic.

The owner of the stall blinked, "Uhm, the two boys who were eating ice cream there? They left five minutes ago, I heard they said you are taking too long." He said apologetically, somehow he felt guilty for not stopping the two from leaving.

"But! Isaac's sense of direction is horrible! And Jabu didn't know Rodorio at all!" He groaned as pacing back and forth in panic, and then realized he left Camus behind. Hyoga sprinted back to Camus then bowed, "I am sorry Master Camus… it's just… Isaac and Jabu are…"

Camus cut him in, "I don't mind Hyoga and trust me… " He said as recalled how many times Milo got himself lost when they were six, and Camus had to find him. Luckily Milo got better when he was older. "I really know how it feel when an idiot get lost…"In which many question mark were hanging above Hyoga's head.

"Hyoga!" Someone called. Camus and Hyoga looked back, and found Crystal and Gardna was running toward them, "Master Camus?" Crystal called, "Ah… I didn't know you are in Rodorio."

Camus sighed, "I met Hyoga around here Crystal… and may I know why you and Gardna are running in panic like that?" He asked in scolding tone.

Crystal winced; he must be looked awful running around in panic. When his master always said that a saint had to keep their composure and all. "Uhm… Well master, under Lord DeathMask' order…"

"DeathMask?" Camus almost raised his cold voice.

Gardna and Crystal nodded, and the Scutum saint decided to join conversation just in case because Crystal seemed cornered by Camus' presence. "Yes… Lord DeathMask need our help, so we are running an errand for him Lord Camus."

The Aquarius saint crossed his arms on his chest, "Where you met DeathMask?"

"In Silver Lyre Tavern, master…" Crystal answered nervously.

Camus began to feel a headache, "Crystal… please tell me DeathMask is not running around Rodorio on his own and looking for someone."

No one dared to answer that; because it sounded they had just made a terrible mistake for leaving Daidalos with DeathMask, "Uhm…" Crystal began, "He is not alone… he is with Daidalos, and yes… he is looking for Pegasus and one of Daidalos' disciple who got lost."

Camus sighed at that, "Shaka will kill DeathMask if he know…" He mumbled under his breath. "And Aiolia… if there is anything left when Shaka was done…"

Crystal looked around, "Uhm… sorry Master, but… Hyoga where is Isaac?" He asked to his disciple.

In which Hyoga gave him a look that creepily reminded Crystal of how Camus looked like when Milo was pulling one of his infamous prank. "I only left for twenty five minutes, I left enough money to occupy themselves with snack or whatever they want…" He began in annoyed tone, "I told them to not go anywhere and they did!" He stated sternly, "So master… may I refuse to look for Isaac the next time he got lost in snowfield?" He asked sweetly, which meant as sarcasm.

Crystal sighed at amused look Gardna shot him, and Camus was slightly disturbed at how Hyoga behaved. His friendship with Isaac creepily reminded him of his with Milo. Crystal blinked when he recalled Hyoga used plural when he asked about Isaac, "Hyoga… is Isaac with someone?"

"Yes!" Hyoga drawled impatiently, "He is with one of my acquaintances from Japan, the name is Jabu." Because Jabu was too annoying to be his friend so he refer him as acquaintance.

Gardna's horrified face was quite hilarious, he stammered. "My disciple got lost too?"

Crystal backed away from Camus when he realized that telling his master that both of him and Gardna couldn't take care of their disciple was a very bad idea. He just wanted to give them a bit of freedom to explore the city on their own, and because Hyoga was smart enough to use map he though no one would get lost. Gardna and Crystal were frozen on their track as chilly air flowed from the gold saint.

Camus gritted his teeth, "So… what's with all of you silver saints? Is this the day for you to let your disciples got lost?"

The Crystal saint shook his head violently, "No master! We just want to give them a little freedom to explore Rodorio!"

Gardna nodded frantically, "Lord Camus, we are sorry for this humiliating event but we didn't mean it to happen!"

"Off course you did not!" Camus drawled dangerously, "And what are you waiting for? Gardna! Go and find your disciple!" Gardna nodded dumbly as holding himself back to not run away in that very second. Then Camus turned to his disciple, "Crystal leave Hyoga to me! So go find Isaac before dusk! Even Rodorio can be dangerous at night!" Hyoga was standing right beside Camus, startled at how cold the air in summer like this. But Hyoga if anything was really awed at Camus' display of power and completely forgot his master was being scolded. "And if you see DeathMask again, tell him that he has two hours till sun sets and if he can't find Pegasus by that time…" Camus trailed off angrily, "I will not save him from Shaka and Aiolia again!"

"Yes Sir!" The silver saints chorused as sprinted away leaving the seething in rage gold saint of Aquarius and Hyoga who was staring at Camus with starry admiration on his eyes.

'_Master Camus is so cool!'

* * *

_

_**Sanctuary (Temple of Maiden)**  
_

Unknown to Camus actually he didn't have to save DeathMask, because situation in sanctuary was a bit too busy…

Aphrodite was scared out of his wits, not for fear of DeathMask's life because Shaka and Aiolia had returned to sanctuary. In fact Shaka and Aiolia stormed through Aries to Cancer with frustrated face, off course they did ask what Tenma was doing. Aphrodite couldn't answer right away added with the fact he guarded Cancer temple when the guardian was off to Rodorio, but he was so relieved when they told him Tenma for the rest of the day would be with DeathMask. Shaka and Aiolia received emergency message about dry seasons in one of training ground got worse, and they were getting problem with food and water, therefore Shaka had to arrange supplies immediately. Aiolia also had his hands full for sudden flooded mission report that afternoon. And after one pile another pile arrived much to their frustration to the point Aphrodite lent them a hand.

And back to why Aphrodite was scared, it was simply because he had lie to Shaka without thinking twice. He told Shaka that Tenma was training with Deathmask in east ground, when usually Shaka was never one that could be deceived; the Virgo saint was too busy to pay attention. Aphrodite was sure if Shaka found out and Aiolia too, he was doomed!

Aphrodite peeked from document he was doing at Shaka who was definitely very busy, "Aiolia, please finish that report in two hours or you are dead." Shaka said calmly as he stamped the piled paperwork. Shaka was in his worse time as he was having his tranquil fury time, Aphrodite never understand how Shaka could be so calm and soft-spoken when he was angry.

Aiolia was in no better condition, and the Pisces saint also wondered how these two could be close friend. Shaka was close with Mu was understandable but Aiolia and Shaka was like heaven and earth. Aiolia snapped, "I get it Shaka! Don't throw death threat with indifferent face like that! It's not my fault if I couldn't finish this right away as those new bronze saints are not capable to write a proper report!" He groaned, "Galan! Come here!" He barked to his retainer.

"Yes, Lord Aiolia…" Galan was Aiolia's retainer, an Ex-trainee with massive build, dark skinned Greek, whose one of his hand was artificial due to an accident when he was a saint in training. "What do you require of me milord?"

Aiolia threw three thin files to Galan, which caught by the retainer with ease. Then the Leo saint turned his face back to his document, "Told those three bronzes to rewrite their report in one hour! And if they are complaining… told them to personally say it to my face!" He roared as another quill broke on his hand. "And make sure to tell them to write a professional one, NOT a half-baked report like that!"

Galan bowed deeply, "Off course milord…" He said as turned back, walking away to entrance of Shaka's office. Shaka and Aiolia shared the same office just to save time of traveling between Leo and Virgo, where Milo and Camus sometimes shared the same office too. And due to Shaka being the Pope's assistant his office was bigger than Aiolia's.

"Aphrodite!" Aiolia called. "Where's document I asked you to sort out?" He asked impatiently.

The Swedish saint flinched as he hurriedly took the pile of finished document, "Okay Aiolia! Document for training ground of west Europe!" He said as put it carefully to a couch beside Aiolia's desk because there was no more space on his desk. "So far no problem for west Europe training ground, and we have dispatched three bronze saints and one silver to make sure no more EX-trainee turn criminals." Aphrodite explained as flipped through few thick files.

Aiolia, sighed in relieve, "My goddess… what's with these flooding paperwork today?" He whined.

"If you have time to whine let your hand work too." Shaka drawled calmly, in which the Leo saint groaned in response. "Agni! What are you doing?"

Aphrodite sighed at panicked retainer of Shaka, who carefully brought a high pile of paperwork. Shaka's retainer was an Indian like him; Aphrodite heard Agni had served Shaka in India even before he became gold saint because he was the son of chief servant of temple where Shaka was raised. Unlike Shaka his skin was dark, short white hair, and similar built with Galan. Even though he wore tunic like other Greek servant he still keeping his turban.

"Where should I put this?" He asked timidly, no one could blame Agni to be timid if his master seemed ready to explode. "There is no more space in your desk Lord Shaka…"

There goes another precious quill, this time by Shaka. "Just put it on the couch, carpet, wherever you want…" He drawled dangerously.

Agni flinched, "_Jo ajna(as your command)_ Lord Shaka!" He replied in panic as dropped the pile to the nearest coach without ceremony, thus it scattered and Agni rushed to collect it back to one pile.

"This is Greece. Don't slip to Hindi, Agni…" Shaka sighed. "How many times I told you that?"

"My apologize Lord Shaka!" Agni yelped as kneeling to apologize with his arm rose ready to completely lay on the floor in submission. Aphrodite giggled softly, sometimes this retainer of Shaka was a bit of Drama queen, and unlike his appearance was softhearted. And he was just like other Indian who knew Shaka, regarding the blond Virgo like a demigod, much to Shaka's chagrin.

"Stop that! And rather than wasting your time on the floor go to Scorpio temple and tell Milo if he can't complete documentation file he was assigned to do in two hours…" He trailed off, and Aiolia could guess what next. "He is dead."

"Jo…" Agni began.

"Agni… can you please just scram?" Shaka asked politely, and in the next second Agni was gone from Shaka's office.

Aiolia sighed as shaking his head, "Shaka… please stop throwing death threat like that." He pleaded; his hand didn't stop stamping as he spoke.

Shaka glared at Aiolia, "Please keep your mouth shut Aiolia… or …"

"Fine!" Aiolia snapped as he stamped another document.

Aphrodite sighed in a long-suffering way, this would be the most tiring afternoon they ever had or maybe night too. He prayed DeathMask could find Tenma before Aiolia and Shaka realized Tenma was not in sanctuary, if they knew… Aphrodite shuddered at mere imagination of what they would do to him and DeathMask. But the Pisces saint had no long while to muse as, "Aphrodite! This paper is not supposed to be in this file!"

Aphrodite groaned, "Yes! I will sort it out again!"

* * *

**Whitechapel, slum district of Rodorio **

Shun was so relieved he managed to get away from the two scary thugs, but he was worried because the thugs even though unconscious were twitching weirdly. "Uhm… will they be alright?"

The young Pegasus saint raised an eyebrow, "They wanted to harm you, but you are worried about them?" He asked in disbelief.

"Why not?" Shun asked back, "I mean… they are bad and all, but it's not like I am hurt and they looks like that…" He said as looking with pity at the twitching thugs.

"Err… in case you didn't have proper grasp of situation you was in…" Tenma trailed off, unsure if he had to explain what's going to happen to Shun if he didn't come in time. "Once they catch you, they usually will bring you to… erm…" Tenma stammered, "They will bring you to bad guys whose business is slave trading, and then sell you to them…"

Shun's eyes widened in fear, "But! I am a boy not a thing! How they can sell human?"

Tenma scratched his head, sighing in a long-suffering way. Whoever the master of this boy, he had to teach him that the world was not as easy as that. As how Shaka phrase it… sick moral? If he remembered correctly Andromeda Island where Shun was training was famous for it's hellish environment. How such a frail boy like Shun could be send there? "Well… they can and they could." Tenma stated, "They will even put anyone they catch to an auction… parading human like goods in store." The Pegasus saint informed Shun with indifferent tone, even though inside he was boiling with rage for such inhuman crime.

Tenma held his gaze firmly at Shun; ready to receive an outburst when he heard human could be put in an auction. But Shun did nothing of the sort; he was blinking his green eyes curiously. And then he asked, "What's an auction? A festival?"

The Pegasus saint blinked then realized Shun was one of the new trainees and as fluent as he was, Shun was not familiar with word that not usually used in daily conversation. "On second though… you better of not knowing." He decided tiredly as began to walk away.

"Uhm wait!" Shun called.

He laughed, "I am not going to leave you defenseless in here, you should follow me and I will bring you back to where your master is waiting." Tenma said as he offered his hand kindly.

Shun nodded as he took Tenma's hand shyly, embarrassed to show how scared he was if Tenma decided to leave him alone. And Pegasus saint seemed nothing like someone who would do something like that, and he had helped too. Shun looked down then asked timidly, "I am sorry but… we have not introduce ourselves." He gulped, "My name is Shun… Amamiya Shun, I am Japanese trainee from Andromeda Island, fourth disciple of Cepheus Daidalos… I am training for Andromeda cloth." Shun said politely, it was standard information a saint or anyone belong to their rank to introduce themselves to their comrades.

The Pegasus saint smiled as shaking Shun's hand, "My name is Pegasus Tenma… bronze rank saint from sanctuary training ground. As for master… I don't have one." He admitted the last part sheepishly, even though eight gold saints taught him, and he was not their official disciple. They told him all about being a saint, but never their signature technique, something master and disciple supposed to share. Tenma's technique was his own creation, a technique he created from scratch and vague dream of battle he had.

Shun had heard Tenma was trained by gold saints, so why he didn't say so? But Shun knew when to not ask question that was better of never asked. As they walk away from that alley Shun tried to began a conversation, "Your name is Tenma right?" At his nod Shun chuckled softly, "It suits you and your cloth!" He commented cheerfully.

Tenma raised an eyebrow, "How it suits me? No one ever told me if my name has special meaning, as far as I know… I was named after the previous owner of my cloth." He said with thoughtful look.

The future Andromeda saint titled his head to the side, wondering if Tenma never met any Japanese before or it was because prejudice issue of race in saint rank. "My name Shun means twinkle… if it's written in different kanji it's mean can be fast or talented." Shun explained with fond voice, and then he added. "You know… name is first special gift our parents gave to us, that's what my brother told me." He admitted sheepishly. "And I think I am understand why you are named Tenma… it's really suits you." Shun said shyly as he recalled how alike Tenma was with a Pegasus when he leaped high above the ground, soaring the sky freely as if he had wings.

Tenma blushed deep red; somehow he was embarrassed someone said something good about his name. Usually many people scorned his name, wondering what the Pope was thinking to give an Asian name to him when his looks didn't help him any. "Uhm… I think your name also fits you Shun, well… when you are not exactly twinkling." He joked which made the Japanese boy pouted at him. "Oh come on, it's just not possible literally, but!" He exclaimed as jerked his thumb to his chest, "I think you are in here." At Shun's blush he laughed, "What's with us blushing like a girl? And by the way what's Tenma means in Japanese anyway?" He asked curiously.

At his question Shun pointed at Tenma's cloth, he blinked. "Tenma means Heavenly Steed, Pegasus off course." Shun said as smiled at him.

"…"

"You know there is various way of writing name in Japanese alphabet, but yours I am sure the Ten is from Ten for heaven, and uma which in Japanese means horse!" Shun explained slowly.

"…"

"Tenma?"

"HA ha ha ha ha ha…" He laughed out loud as banging his fist to the nearest wall, "What the hell? My name means Heavenly Steed?" He asked out loud.

Shun nodded, bewildered at Tenma's sudden burst. "Yes… it means heavenly steed, Pegasus."

Tenma was rolling on the floor now, his eyes were teary, "Oh my Athena! I doubt our Pope was aware what's my name means! So I am Pegasus Pegasus? Ha ha ha ha…"

"It's not that funny…" Shun pouted, "I mean… I saw you before on the street, leaping above rooftops as if you were flying." He said as smiled gently at Tenma who was lying on the floor, looking weirdly at him, "I mean… it's really like you were soaring the sky with a pair of wings on your back, like a Pegasus…"

The Pegasus saint locked his eyes at the pair of green orbs, Shun's eyes had different shade of green Aiolia had, Aiolia's eyes were full of determination and unwavering bravery. Shaka's blue eyes were mystic and because it were rarely seen, it always seemed mysterious and ethereal. Aldebaran's eyes were dull but full of warmth and kindness, he could go on and on about his brothers just from their eyes. But none of them had what Shun's eyes had, it was innocence and purity, maybe childish… something all gold saints grew out quickly because of call of duty.

He smiled, "Well…" he trailed off as stood up with a jump, "You sounds really dreamy when talking about flying." He pointed out with a grin.

Shun returned his smile, shrugging. "It's just… seems so fun, you know… fly on your own without plane or anything…" He admitted sheepishly, "I wish I have wings like you Tenma."

Tenma blinked, "Wings? I don't have any…"

"But your cloth is Pegasus." Shun said as looking at Tenma's white cloth, as if trying to find anything that looks like wing.

"When my cloth is assembled back to Pandora box, it does have wings." He beamed, and then laughed. "Sadly that wings would fold and form this mitpa." He said as pointed at armor part that covered his lower body.

"Mitpa?" Shun repeated.

"Uhm… that's Greek for armor part to cover lower body, despite of my face looks Asian and also my name…" He trailed off tiredly "I am really a Greek Shun…" at that Shun blinked, "Anyway Shun, I am wondering if you want to try flying?"

"…"

"…So?"

"Eeeh?" Shun yelped, "But I can't fly!"

Tenma smiled as he turned back then bowed a bit, "Now hop on Shun!"

"Eh! But!" He stammered embarrassedly. "That's…"

"Oh please… piggyback won't hurt your manly pride or anything!" He retorted dryly, "Even Alde sometimes piggyback me, or others who sometimes forgot what's so called limit in sparing…" Well in their case they didn't have any choice, Milo, DeathMask, Aiolia and Shura sometimes needed help to go back after overworked themselves, and Aldebaran was too kind to leave them sleeping outside. If it was Shaka or Camus, they will at least throw a blanket and let them sleep on the cold ground. "You won't piggyback? I will scoop you up in bridal style instead, how is that sound?" Tenma threatened jokingly.

Shun cringed at that, "No! I will hop on!" He yelped as hop on Tenma's back.

Tenma grinned as he felt extra weight on his back, and then frowned. "Shun?"

"Yes?"

"Hold on tight!" He exclaimed as jumped as high as he could till they reached the rooftop. And before Shun could say anything Tenma leaped once again and this time their back was facing the ground.

Shun was scared but also excited in the same time, the scenery of Rodorio looked so magical when he saw it upside down. "We are flying!"

Tenma just laughed as they landed on a rooftop but in the next second they were in the midair again, "So… how it feels? This is not really flying but close enough ne?"

The future Andromeda saint laughed, "It's amazing! Tenma you are so cool, you can fly!"

Tenma grinned, "Oh please… your praise is starting to get into my head!" He chuckled softly then said, "Once you master your cosmos…" He trailed off as once again leaping using the rooftop as footing, soaring the sky without wings. "You will be able to do this too Shun."

"Really?" Shun asked hopefully.

Tenma nodded with a big grin formed on his lips, "Off course, this is nothing compared of what a saint really capable of." He paused, "Say… sun will set in one and half hour, I am sure your master won't mind if I fly you for half an hour!"

"EH?" Shun yelped as Tenma took another leap.

"I am a saint Shun, I know your master have many disciples so he must be divided his attention to each of you… just take this as a free offer from me as your… friend." He stated the last part unsurely, he never had friend his age. His family and friends were gold saints, their kind servants and Pope. In fact he was the youngest occupant of twelve temples. "I mean ask for tips about cosmos, despite of my looks… I am quite an expert in cosmos theory." He admitted sheepishly, "Well… more like have to be one, because I start my training since I was… two and half? Or three? I don't really remember." He shrugged.

Shun blinked, "Um Tenma… you were toddler when you started?" He asked in disbelief.

Tenma shrugged, "What did you expect? I was raised in sanctuary since I was just a baby!" He pointed out dryly, "You at least need six years to be a saint, that's normal standard… but that's for trainee who started their training when they were five to ten." Tenma explained slowly, "But if you started training younger than five like me… it would be easier."

"Uhm…" Shun grumbled, "How it's easier? I mean… our training in Andromeda Island is quite harsh, I barely have any strength by the end of the day!" He pointed out tiredly, "How that kind of training is easier if you are younger?" Shun asked curiously.

"You get used to it." Tenma deadpanned, "Your training feels harder because you have no mastery of cosmos." He informed with lofty tone, "Shun… what you are learning now is to tap cosmos, which come easier if you are younger…"

"How come?"

Tenma sighed, "Well… that's how our body work when it comes to understanding of cosmos." Tenma said as looked back to him. "It's all in your mind actually… you think what I am doing now is amazing? Do you think fist of saint who could crush the ground apart and render the sky is impossible?" He asked serenely.

How long a Saints train depends on all kinds of factors like the trainee's given potential, the teaching methods of the Master, and what else. Gold saints who mastered cosmos since they were young could be called genius, but that was more to the fact they had sheltered life from mundane world. Cosmos and knowledge of mundane world was like spear and shield, the older you were the more you know of mundane matter and the shield would be thicker, acting as boundary of cosmos to reach it's full potential. It was like once you were older you would think what cosmos could do for you as something hard and almost impossible, and your body would instinctively trained harder for it, when those who began since they were child would not be limited by such perception. Tenma understand that, the theory in fact was not complicated but sure sounded absurd for how much mind could limit cosmos in a wrong way.

Shun titled his head to the side, "I think it's amazing… but because I already see what you did, I don't think it's impossible." He stated shyly.

Tenma chuckled, "What I want to know is… do you think you can do it too someday?"

His shoulder fell at that, "Uhm… I am not sure, but I will try my best!" He exclaimed unsurely.

The Pegasus saint sighed, "Shun?"

"Uh huh?"

"You should…" He trailed off.

**"BRAT!"**

Shun yelped when someone jumped on their way, "Tenma look out!" But much to Shun' shock, Tenma out of reflex kicked the man who jumped right in front of them, and once again Tenma managed to print his boot on someone's face.

Tenma deadpanned, "What Masky is doing?" He asked as he landed on the rooftop and DeathMask fell like a fly.

* * *

**Rodorio, **Cyllene Road

Daidalos was trained by previous Cepheus saint therefore he didn't have any experience of dealing with gold saints, spending his time with DeathMask was quite… memorable. He was a gold saint but he was far cry from a saint, he glared at every moving creature on his sight, and all townspeople of Rodorio backed away from his way. But for some reason Cepheus saint could tell that townspeople were not scared to death of DeathMask, they backed away as if that was something they supposed to do, like some kind of habit. He also caught amused look they send to DeathMask's back, Daidalos suspected that they already knew what DeathMask was doing, and they though he was hilarious. It must be not the first time DeathMask was looking for Tenma in Rodorio, Daidalos though as sweat-dropped.

And suddenly DeathMask saw something in the sky, Daidalos didn't have time to look at the same direction by the time DeathMask leaped to whatever he saw. And the next second what Daidalos knew was DeathMask got kicked on the face and fell, off course DeathMask managed to get his footing and landed in a loud crashed sound as ground he landed became a crater.

"Damn brat!" He cursed loudly.

Daidalos' eyes widened when a boy who matched DeathMask's description landed not far away from them and he had Shun on his back, "Shun!" Daidalos called as ran to his disciple.

Shun hopped off of Tenma's back carefully, then squealed when he saw Daidalos. "Master!"

Daidalos hugged his disciple tightly, "Shun… you have no idea of how much I am worried about you!" Daidalos said in scolding tone as he released Shun slowly, "I heard you were in dangerous backstreet area, how you end up here? I was looking for you!"

The Japanese boy looked down in shame, "I am so sorry master Daidalos, I didn't mean to get myself lost! Nor getting myself in trouble and worry you… I am so sorry… forgive me master…" He said as bowed deeply.

Daidalos sighed at petting Shun's hair gently, "I know you didn't mean to worry me or anyone else." He stated loftily, "Just be careful next time okay?"

Shun beamed, "Yes Master Daidalos!"

* * *

DeathMask was looking down at Tenma who gave him apologetic look, which in his opinion was not convincing, he bet the brat was laughing inside for his red nose. "Masky… sorry for kicking you up there." Tenma apologized sweetly, "But you know what I would do in reflex if something suddenly appeared in front of me like you did." He added.

DeathMask growled, "Is that how to say an apology? Sounds more like you call me stupid!"

"Think what you want." Tenma deadpanned. "It matters not to me…" He stated haughtily as puffing his chest mockingly.

"Don't parrot Shaka, Tenma!" He barked angrily.

The Pegasus saint huffed, "I will parrot anyone I want." He quipped with a grin.

Daidalos gaped at what happened in front of him, just like Gardna said. Pegasus was a child with no fear of gold saints, he treated them like a friend and brother not his superior. Daidalos stared dumbly at bickering Tenma and DeathMask, and the gold saint seemed equally stubborn to win the argument. "Oh Athena…" They looked like two bickering children rather than saints.

DeathMask growled, "When we go back to twelve temples brat… You are dead!" He hissed threateningly through clenched teeth.

"You said that all the time, Masky!" Tenma laughed out loud, "How if you change your threat once in a while?" He suggested cheerfully.

"How castrating you sound?" He asked sarcastically, he even didn't notice he did as Tenma said, "Better?"

Tenma rolled his eyes, "You said that three days ago, and also last week I think…" He deadpanned. "You won't lose anything if you tried to be more creative in anything you feel you need to be."

"What did I say about parroting? Now you parrot Camus?" He growled threateningly.

"Masky… blood pressure! I think from how red your face is, at least one third of your blood is in your head." Tenma stated jokingly.

Shun approached them slowly, unsure if he had to interrupt them. "Anoo… excuse me."

"What?" DeathMask growled at Shun, and the boy backed away as yelping in shock.

Tenma kicked DeathMask's shin as yelled, "Masky! Don't growl at Shun!"

DeathMask gritted his teeth as pain shoot up to his head, "Tenmaaaaaaa!"

"Anyway… shouldn't we go back?" Tenma asked lazily, "You will get into a trouble if we don't…" He reminded the older saint as smiled at his newest friend.

DeathMask snapped, "Whose fault is that?"

"I wonder who refused to bring me to Rodorio in the first place today?" Tenma wondered out loud.

The Cancer saint sighed, "Brat… you know why I…"

Tenma hissed through clenched teeth, "Save it! I know." He turned his face away, "I am sorry…" He said as looked down, "But I am really want to come when I heard so many trainees from all over the world came to Rodorio today…"

* * *

Daidalos frowned, wondering if the rumor that Gold saints were protective of Tenma was true. He knew Tenma was said as future Sagittarius saint, heir of Aiolos. The fact the boy's origin was unknown, the Pope one day held a Golden Round and announced Tenma who was still a baby to be the future Sagittarius saint. The only make sense explanation his peers ever came out with was, if the boy was raised since he was just a baby it was unlikely he would betray sanctuary like Aiolos did.

Tenma in a way was a child who was raised to be a saint like other gold saints, but because he was born and raised in sanctuary he didn't know what so called outside world. He was trapped in sanctuary with surreal bound. He was like a Pegasus with clipped wings, however Daidalos wondered if this Pegasus was the one who hold sanctuary together or precisely gold saints from breaking apart. Daidalos was well aware Aiolos' betrayal affected Athena's order, he who regarded as gallant saint, admired as role model by many saints even by other gold saints. His betrayal and disgraced death made all saints wonder if Athena was really a good goddess who worth their pledge, if someone like Aiolos would go as far to betray her. But Gold saints managed to hold them back together, they showed that Athena was a goddess who was worthy with their hard work through years of servitude for Athena. At first gold saints was the rank that seemed would break apart because of crisis of trust that caused by Aiolos' betrayal but somehow they managed to recover from it so quickly, they even managed to fix their relationship with Aiolia and Shura. And then held all rank back to what it was before Aiolos' death.

Pegasus Tenma…

The boy who was raised by eight gold saints, Daidalos could see that even DeathMask who was the most vicious gold saint was so attached to him. He even went as far to comb every corner of Rodorio to look for him, Tenma was so important for gold saints, as if he was their very core. How ironic that many of lower ranked saints and trainees were jealous and despised him, when the boy was the one who united gold saints and unite all Athena saints back.

Daidalos chuckled softly to himself when he realized he had just figured out why Tenma treated specially among them, it simply because he was that special. He titled his head to the side; curious when he looked Shun was talking to Tenma. Shun looked so happy, the happiest he ever saw since Shun arrived in Andromeda Island.

"I am really… thankful you saved me and brought me back to my master Tenma…" Shun said as bowed deeply. "I also have a lot of fun!"

Tenma grinned, "No sweat! It's so fun for me too!" He chirped.

Daidalos who approached them raised an eyebrow, "Uhm… excuse me, Shun… Pegasus saved you? Were you in trouble?"

Shun flinched, "Uhm.. I…"

"Shun!" Daidalos called him sternly, "What happened?"

The future Andromeda saint gukped, "Err two men though I was a girl…" At his both of Daidalos and DeathMask blushed deep red in embarrassment, and Tenma groaned. "I didn't meant to run into his leg and annoyed him master! I really didn't!" Shun explained pleadingly.

Daidalos sighed, "Shun… I don't think you are capable of annoying people on purpose." He stated, "And then?"

"They caught me…" Shun stammered as trembling at the horrible memory, the feel of being helpless on his suffocating hold. "They said… they wanted to sell me! They didn't believe I am a boy! A saint in training!"

Daidalos' eyes softened, he felt sorry for Shun to experience such thing. "Shun…"

"How they could…" He stammered.

Tenma cut Shun in, "Forgive me for my interruption however… may I tell you the chronology instead, Cepheus Daidalos?" He asked calmly, "He is still not comfortable to be reminded of what happened."

The blond saint nodded, deep down impressed such a young boy could decide to take charge of situation, "Shun… stay here, I will talk with Pegasus for a while… "He said as petted Shun lovingly, "I am sorry if I demand an explanation when you are not ready to give me one."

Shun shook his head, "It's okay… I will be strong…"

He smiled at that then turned to Pegasus, "Well… let's talk Pegasus…" he said as walked away from DeathMask and Shun to have a private talk. "I am really grateful that you saved and brought Shun back to me… Tenma, for that I owe you one.

Tenma returned his smile, "It's nothing Cepheus, as for what happened… I wouldn't say I arrived just in the nick of time…" He explained grimly. "Shun got hurt…"

"What?" Daidalos' eyes widened in disbelief, "He seemed fine to me…"

Pegasus narrowed his eyes, "He hide it well… the thug who caught him surely left bruise on Shun's waist when he was holding Shun." He explained bitterly, "I was above when that happened." Tenma said as pointed at the rooftop. "I am sure if you took off Shun's shirt you will find a two handprint on his waist." He pointed out regretfully.

"How do you know?" Daidalos asked, "Shun even didn't show any pain on his face…"

"When he hopped on my back." Tenma shrugged, "I noticed his heartbeat quickened and he flinched when my arms brushed his waist, I piggybacked him so… it's easy to notice this." He sighed tiredly, "May I know why Shun was so stubborn to hide it? At first I offered him a little trip up there just to cheer him up, I won't notice he is hurt if he didn't hop on my back."

Daidalos sighed, shaking his head. "He didn't want to worry anyone… to be a burden." He stated, at raised eyebrow of Tenma he added. "Shun seems to believe all this time he depend on his brother Ikki too much, he burdened him… and now they are separated Shun didn't want to burden anyone like he did Ikki."

Tenma understand that well, he after all was always though his presence burdened gold saints. They had duty as saints but they still spare their time for him as much as they could. "I see… I suspect he did the same in training ground when it comes to injury when he was training?"

The Cepheus saint looked down, "That's why I really tried as hard as I could to pay attention when Shun was training." He stated tiredly, "He sprained his ankle in the first week of training… I didn't know till it swelled purple…"

"I see… anyway Cepheus Daidalos, Shun will recover quickly though, I am sure of that!" He stated with a grin, "He is stronger than we though."

Daidalos nodded in agreement, "I know… he is a strong child."

"By the way Cepheus… when it's good and all… Shun seems to be a bit too pure and kind for his own good." He stated lamely. "When there is nothing wrong with that… he is worried about the thugs after I knocked them out cold, someone who wanted to kidnap and sell him… " Tenma trailed off, "I am just afraid this would almost bordering to suicidal later once he fight for real."

"I also… afraid that would be the case in the future…" He admitted sadly, "I am his master Tenma… however I don't have a heart to take away his kindness to make him a better warrior. I just cant!"

Tenma sighed, "Well… " Deep down Shun's kindness and purity frightened him for some reason he couldn't understand, however he didn't hate this quality of Shun. If anything Shun was the first child his age Tenma could admire, not for physical strength but his heart. "Actually… I don't know why but I believe he would be strong enough to fight with that pacifist belief." He paused, "I just knew it…"

Daidalos was startled at Tenma's sudden statement; he spoke as if he knew Shun so well that he had knew him for most of his life. There was no even a tint of doubt on his voice. He couldn't stop himself from asking, "How you can be so sure?"

Tenma laughed at that, "Heh… funny you ask that, I did say I just knew it." He stated jokingly, "My gut feeling… or something like that, Cepheus… I am a brat! If I believe in something I don't need too many mumbo jumbo, but if there is any reason…" He trailed off with a smile, "Maybe because I saw how hard he tried to stand up against those thugs, he didn't cry or scream like other child our age would… "He grinned, "I just think isn't he so strong even though he has no mastery of cosmos like we did?"

Daidalos chuckled softly, what a boy he was. He was really a child but in the same time could see better than adult could with his childish eyes. "Well, I see…" he nodded, "Let's go back before we angered Lord DeathMask for waiting too long."

Tenma shrugged, "Nah… Masky won't kill anyone in the middle of the town."

"Uhm is that so?" Daidalos asked unsurely.

* * *

"So Sir… I am really…" Shun began sternly, "A boy! And I didn't looking for my mother!" He stated stubbornly.

DeathMask stared dumbly at Shun who seemed very offended for what was said to him in their last encounter. He was sure Shun knew he had figured that out since he met Daidalos, it was just Shun though there was a need to confirm it. It seemed this girly brat had manly pride in him, and DeathMask had bruised the said pride. "Yes kid… I got that already, to be honest my mind was not working straight that time so you should excuse my misunderstanding." Tenma was the only brat DeathMask had to deal with in daily basis so he had no idea of how dealing with other brat, if it was Tenma… when he was offended by a remark he would explode or sulk in the corner for a good ten minutes, and then he would be okay enough to chirp from Aries to Pisces.

"Really?" Shun asked hopefully, pleased he had cleared the misunderstanding.

On second though the brat had the same recovery ability as Tenma, "Yeah… yeah… now shooo! That master of yours seems have finished whatever shitty business he has with Tenma."

Shun gasped, "Sir! You shouldn't curse like that!" He reminded DeathMask innocently.

The Italian saint growled, "Oh… I am totally would tell Daidalos to keep you faaaaaaaar away from Aphrodite!" DeathMask exclaimed as his hands scratched his messy blue hair in annoyance, he didn't need another girly boy to tell him about his language every single fucking time he speak. "Daidalos!"

Daidalos instinctively took a step back, "Yes Lord DeathMask?"

"If Aphrodite ever came to Andromeda island make sure this brat is nowhere on his sight! For his own good! For sanctuary's good because Athena knows we don't need someone like Aphrodite spawned!" He yelled with his eyes bulging, as if boring hole through Daidalos' head.

He didn't really understand why he should keep Shun away from Pisces saint, he knew Aphrodite was said as the fairest among 88 saints of Athena but just like his rose, Aphrodite was feared for his ruthless way of fighting. He never met the Pisces saint but he also heard DeathMask was Aphrodite's best friend, so… "I accept your advice Lord DeathMask… I will make sure of that." He offered timidly to the fuming Cancer.

"Good!" DeathMask snapped.

Tenma rolled his eyes, "Masky… what nonsense you have on your mind this time?"

"Don't start!" He growled, "If anything my warning would do our society a good favor!"

"Whatever… Shun raise your hands like this!" Tenma said as he raised both of his hand as high as he could.

Shun titled his head to the side in confusion, "Uhm… banzai?"

"What is banzai?" Tenma asked curiously.

The Japanese boy raised his hands, "In Japan if we do this we always yell banzai! It's like hurray, but it means long life!" Shun chirped happily, at this point Daidalos and DeathMask were totally clueless of what Tenma and Shun were doing.

Tenma grinned at that as they both lowered their hands, "Oh! Anyway… BANZAI!

"Banzai!" Shun yelled as he raised his hands, imitating his Pegasus friend. But much to his shock suddenly Tenma yanked his shirt, exposing his stomach. "Waa! Tenma what are you doing!" Shun yelped as blushing deep red.

DeathMask gaped, "Woi Tenma! You…"

"I am just checking Masky." Tenma muttered tonelessly, "And Shun… you shouldn't hide it, that's quite a handprint…" He commented as looking at two handprints on each side of Shun's waist. "It must be hurt…"

Daidalos had been told about this but still he couldn't believe it could be that red, the thug must be pretty strong, and a cruel and sadist one at that, for he was not hesitate to resort violence against a child. "Shun…"

Shun looked down in shame, "I just… didn't want to…"

Tenma cut him in, "You are really too kind for your own good." He stated, "Anyway… hold still for a moment." He said as his hands glowed in bluish white cosmos, slowly hovering above Shun's bruises. Shun gasped in shock when he felt sudden warmth that was not belong to human's skin on his waist, it felt funny and unnatural but in the same time comforting and calming. And he felt his pain subsided slowly, "Tell me if it's hurt… I will ease my cosmos if it's too strong for you." Tenma said as smiled at Shun.

Shun nodded shyly, "Thank you Tenma…"

Daidalos looked at DeathMask in disbelief, "He could use cosmos for healing?"

It was a skill all saints possessed, they could heal themselves faster than normal human. But most saint let their cosmos healed themselves naturally just like other human waiting their wound to heal, only few saints capable to concentrate their cosmos to heal wound faster than natural way, especially because it took quite a long practice of cosmos to be sufficient for healing, off course all gold saints were capable of this. He didn't expect Tenma could, especially he was so young, and didn't seem have patience for this kind of skill.

DeathMask laughed, "Well… Aiolia taught the brat how, Tenma was so stubborn about he want to treat his injury by himself when he was around…" He trailed off with thoughtful face, "I guess that was when he was four and half I guess, the brat has zero skill with bandage as he keep mummified himself and dislike disinfectant." DeathMask explained with a grin.

"But to be able to heal with cosmos need a long practice." Daidalos pointed out.

"Nah…" The Italian saint shrugged, "Tenma always trashed himself after a long and hard training, and we simply have no time to fix him and he hated infirmary… so after finished with the training we could just leave him on the ground till his cosmos recovered enough for healing." He said with a grin, and Daidalos gaped then mouthed 'harsh!' Even Daidalos would insist to treat his student's wound and wouldn't let them training till they couldn't move a limb. From what DeathMask said, gold saints seemed very harsh when it comes to Tenma's training and won't hesitate to push the boy to his limit. "Well… the brat using his own body for practice… and because it happens almost everyday, no skill, no talent or no patience… he has to heal himself too many times, he is bound to be quite good… he just can't be that stupid." DeathMask stated as laughed out loud.

"Thank you for your compliment." Tenma said sarcastically, "That's so kind of you Masky, especially when you broke my bones sometimes… lucky I manage to fix it!" He reminded DeathMask cheerfully. "I become so good now was thanks for that!" In which Daidalos drew conclusion, if Tenma was capable to fix broken bone… it can be safely assumed gold saints like DeathMask won't hesitate to train him till his bone broke. What a… hellish training...

"You are welcome brat…" He replied with a sneer.

Tenma turned to Shun, "There… the bruise is already gone, feel better?"

Shun nodded, "Yes! It's not hurt anymore… like magic! Thank you Tenma!" He muttered softly as he lowered his shirt.

Tenma raised an eyebrow, "How many times you thanked me for one day Shun?"

Shun blushed, "Erm lots?"

DeathMask laughed, "You have quite a brat here Daidalos, by the way I wonder what Crystal…" He paused, as everyone's attention was drew to two running saints who were approaching them. "Gardna and Crystal? What a time, I just found the brat I was looking for."

Crystal panted wildly, as he stopped abruptly with Gardna in front of them, "Thanks God for that, milord… I…" He trailed off tiredly, "I met my master and he was not happy when he knew what we were doing…" He admitted sheepishly.

DeathMask groaned, "So Camus was already back from Canada? Oh well, at least I found Tenma…"

"Masky I already knew Camus was back." Tenma pointed out, "It was so easy to spot his cold cosmos from miles away! How come you didn't notice?"

"I was looking for you! So excuse me if I didn't notice that walking ice block is around!" DeathMask drawled in annoyance. "Oh shit! What the hell annoyed that penguin this time?"

Gardna was not sure if he had to answer that, "Uhm… we also… lost our disciples?"

DeathMask stared at him, "What's with today and missing brat?" He asked to no one, forgetting he was not one to talk.

* * *

**Flower Nymph Café (Rodorio)**

Camus and Hyoga were having small talk on the second floor of the café, enjoying tea and a small basket of homemade cookie. Camus chose the second floor because he wanted a quiet place to talk with Hyoga and he had paid the owner to book the whole second floor so no one would interrupt them. The ice saint didn't approach Hyoga for no reason, he wanted to ask Hyoga about Mitsumasa Kido. Camus was not sure he had to do what Shaka told him too, trying to get close and asking for information about Mitsumasa Kido from Hyoga. He enjoyed Hyoga's company and he didn't want to misuse Hyoga's trust in him, but then again as a saint and Hyoga was a saint in training, they should not allow anyone trying to use saint for personally gain. "Hyoga… do you enjoy your training as a saint?" He asked.

Hyoga nodded as he sipped his ice lemon tea, "It's harsh… but it's really fun… and I proud I could be one of Athena's saint one day, to protect earth…" He admitted sheepishly, at first he only wanted to see his mother but as time progressed and he saw Crystal and other saints worked so hard to protect earth, he was sure his mother would like him to do the same.

"Hyoga… I am glad to hear that." Camus said as he closed his eyes, "I am sorry to be blunt Hyoga, but I don't like to be cryptic." He stated loftily, "At least not now, and not to you when I feel there is no need for it."

Hyoga was taken back at sudden statement Camus made, "Uhm what do you mean Master Camus?"

Camus sighed, "Hyoga… you know our existence, saints since mythological era have protected earth from the shadow… unknown by history record of outside world." He explained as crossed his arms. "And to be honest when we didn't mind taking you and other ninety nine Japanese children as trainees, we mind the man who sent you." He stated sternly, "If he planned to take advantage of you after you gained your cloth. Hyoga… out of one hundred children, since the very beginning we doubt even five of you could survive the training… so we won't stand it… if you guys trying so hard and in the end used by Mitsumasa Kido."

Hyoga was silent for a while then looked down, "Master… I won't deny we were sent not by our own choice." Hyoga said slowly as he raised his head, locking his blue eyes to Camus' deeper blue. "However… I hope you believe at least that I have no intention to serve that man, and I am willing to answer everything you ask about him." Camus nodded at that, he was relieved Hyoga was observant enough to have a good grasp of situation. "In fact unlike other orphan Mitsumasa Kido gathered… I know _more_ than they do." He stated confidently.

Camus' eyes widened, "What do you mean Hyoga?"

"I don't know why he sent us and what he would do to cloths once he get his hand on it, everyone was only told they should return to Japan as soon as they gained their cloth." Hyoga informed Camus honestly, "To be honest… I think it's just for his own pride, like how his charity activity is nothing but a façade to raise his status in society's eyes."

The ice saint stiffened, as cold as his demeanor looked like he was boiling inside for someone dared to drag children just for their selfish gain, "You seems to be as knowledgeable as you claimed about Kido… Hyoga, and aside from that you sounds really despise this man."

Hyoga's blushed red but then he chuckled, "I won't deny that… he told us to draw a paper from a box to decide which training ground we would be send! And two of my closest friends end up taking the most hellish one! " Hyoga's usual calm voice turned bitter when he reminded what happened to Ikki and Shun, "And the man who was in charge of us, instead of at least feel bad for them… he gleefully announced how hellish Death Queen Island is! He announced they would die!"

Camus suspected Hyoga would cry anytime by now, judging by his glassy eyes. But Hyoga wiped his eyes then looked at him with determined eyes. "I see… so Kido treat this like a game?"

Hyoga nodded as he continued his story, "More or less Master Camus, I have no intention to go back to that man six years later." He stated, "As for the very reason… I won't… it's about something I know that other children doesn't."

"And what it might be?" Camus encouraged Hyoga.

Hyoga looked down in shame as he answered in strangled voice, his fish clenched painfully on his lap. "That man… Mitsumasa Kido is my father…"

Camus' eyes widened in shock but he quickly regained his composure, "So you hate him for sending his own child? That he used you… his son?"

Hyoga looked up, a pained smile on his lips. "Master Camus… all of us are his sons." He stated in strangled voice, and at Camus' widened eyes he explained. "He had children with women all over the world, so he could choose the best one among one hundred as his heir…"

"You didn't think he might use saint training to choose?" Camus asked calmly.

Hyoga shook his head, "I don't know… but I don't think he want us anymore. We have been discarded like trash." He stated, "He has a granddaughter our age named Saori, He has chosen his heir Master…" Hyoga paused, "I don't think any of us care who will become his heir nor his wealth even if the truth revealed one day because none of us like him… but maybe out of one hundred I am one of few who have reason to loath him more than anyone else."

Camus didn't say anything as he was waiting for Hyoga to continue.

"My mother really loved him… she told me that he was a great man, but when we went to Japan to meet him... our ship sank and my mother sacrificed herself so I can board on the remaining boat which only enough for one more people…" Hyoga muttered with strangled voice and tears began to pool on the corner of his eyes, "When I arrived in Japan… what I got was news he called my mother to bring me to Japan... for a one year training preparation before we were sent to saint training! I can accept my mother died for me but I can't accept she went through so much for that man, who even didn't look at us… his sons as human! He treated us like objects!"

Hyoga held back his tears; shocked he let it out in front of Camus and he was ashamed for it. He had held it back for one year since her mother's death, he never cry because he felt weak and he didn't want to show it when he was in Kido's mansion. Where who knows how many eyes Kido had in his residence. The ice saint shook his head, "Hyoga wipe your tears, but you don't have to be ashamed you cried… you have every right to cry. However I have to ask you to hold it back till you finished… because with what you told me… maybe I could prevent whatever Kido have on his mind in the future. This is for you and your brothers… so stay strong."

Hyoga nodded as he wiped his tears away, straightened his posture. "Yes, master Camus… I will tell you everything I know."

Camus nodded, "That's an attitude I would like to see…" He paused, "Then how much he knew about us? Because from what I heard you guys receive quite a training as preparation however not up to standard for saint training, you should know this first hand."

Hyoga smiled at that, he nodded shyly. "Erm… Kido seems to have a very minimal knowledge about saint." Hyoga stated, "He knew roughly of our hierarchy from bronze to gold and saint's mastery of cosmos, and about our training ground… I suspect he located it with Kido Foundation's network."

The French saint shook his head, "If it's satellite or something like that… I doubt it because few training ground was hidden well enough or has barrier."

Hyoga's answer to that was quick, "He is good with loosening tongue with money."

Camus raised his hand to his face, sighing. '_Shaka won't be happy if he knew this matter is three times more complicated than we expected. And the fact this man is wealthy enough to sway someone from our rank. I swear Milo and Aiolia would scream if they knew. They after all the one though it was okay to accept the 100 Japanese children as trainee.' _Camus though grimly, noting he and Shaka had to arrange to investigate this more to find out who had betrayed sanctuary. "Hyoga… do you know how he could come to knowledge of our existence?"

"Ah about that… he didn't tell us at all but i know..." Hyoga trailed off, "I overheard him talking to Tatsumi, the man who was in charge of us about it." He muttered calmly with thoughtful expression.

The ice saint couldn't help but smile at how much Hyoga knew, he was a very observant boy. "So what did he say?"

"He knew since seven years ago…" Hyoga stated, "He was exploring a ruin in Greek that time, around Athens maybe? He said someone… a Greek for sure... told him about Saints and Athena are exist, I didn't know what he said after that because he was walking away but… anyone who told him surely didn't say anything more because Kido claimed he was looking more information after that by himself."

Camus' eyes widened at that, especially at what year and where Kido found out existence of saints. They found Aiolos' corpse but they didn't find his Pandora box, what they found in that ruin was Aiolos who died with content smile on his face as if he had finished what he should do. The man Kido found might be Aiolos, no it was him for sure! And maybe… "Hyoga… did Kido ever show you a golden box? A centaur made of gold maybe?"

Hyoga shook his head, "Kido have many antiques in his home." Hyoga stated, "He never showed us any… but he is very cautious when it comes to security, he ever donated one of his collections to be exhibited in museum for charity. Hyoga shrugged, "No doubt… a fake one." He stated confidently. "Kido have a very good connection with scientist, he donated so much for them… and he has his own group of scientist. I heard they are good in machine and biotechnology. The fake antique he donated to museum that good enough to fool curator... it was result of Kido's scientist group for sure."

Camus had an urge to bang his head; the man definitely had the cloth with him. To locate a cloth who had an owner was no big deal, locating one with no owner was difficult, especially because gold cloths and few special cloths had their quirk. If they refused to show themselves they will not emit even a single trace of cosmos as if they were death. And Sagittarius cloth did just that, there was no trace of it. And added with the fact that man might do something to fool them from looking for the cloth, the only one who was capable to track down the cloth better than anyone was Mu. Unfortunately MU will not cooperate, and no one wanted to cooperate with him beside they were not in condition to ask Mu that anyway.

"So Hyoga… what do you want to do once you gained your cloth?" Camus asked trying to change topic as even for him, all informations he got from Hyoga was taking a toll of him.

Hyoga looked down shyly, "Master Camus, I will admit at first my primary motivation to come to Siberia is not something you would approve… " He stated, "But after I saw Master Crystal and other saints who came to visit us sometimes… I admire them, and life they lived for Athena. They made me feel so tiny…" He admitted shyly.

"And what's this first motivation if I might know?" Camus asked tonelessly.

"My mother's ship sunk in Siberia… therefore I want to be strong enough to be able to see her again." He confessed, but he didn't sound embarrassed, determined even.

Camus frowned at that, "Hyoga… you know even if you see her one day, she is nothing but corpse." He stated sternly.

Hyoga smiled at that, "I know master Camus… I know what I will find in that shipwreck is my mother's body, she will never return to me…" he muttered sadly with serene smile, "But… I just want a reminder of her, to see her face so I won't forget her."

Camus didn't expect that, "Hyoga… what do you mean? Should a photograph sufficient enough?" He asked coldly, "Do you know how dangerous the cold sea is? And why you sounds so scared that you will forget her?"

He shook his head, "There is no photo or anything belonged to her except my cross left, it sank together with the ship." He explained with painful face, clenching the cross he had on his chest, hidden beneath his shirt. "As for why I am scared… it's because from all orphan Kido gathered… at least those I know of… none of them remembered their mother anymore." He stated with strangled voice, "Because their mother died when they were too young or they were placed in orphanage as soon as they were born. " Hyoga took a deep breath, "I know it's foolish of me to be scared I will forget my mother's face like them when I just lost her one year ago, but I am really scared! I am scared I will forget my mother who sacrificed herself for me, even if a moment memory of her face seems blurry in my mind scare me!" He said as tears once again soaked his face, but he wiped it hastily, "And off course… what I want from diving to the deep cold sea is just to see her face, or photo… but I don't think there is any photo…"

Camus raised his hand, "Hyoga enough! I am understand what you mean… when your fear seems illogical for me, I have no right to say anything because I am not you… nor I know what you feel however… " He trailed off, "I want to ask once you are a saint, will you put your mother's corpse as something more important than your duty?" He asked sternly. "You know this sentiment might endanger you…"

Hyoga sighed, "Master Camus… I did say I really want to be a saint, I admire all saints I met…" He admitted shyly, "Especially you and Master Crystal… and I know my mother will not approve me being hindered by her cold body, she sacrificed her life for me to live my life… I won't throw my life away foolishly."

Camus smiled at that, maybe he didn't need to worry too much. Hyoga had take his own decicion of how he could live a life as a saint. "Very well… and Hyoga… how if I return to Siberia to live with you, Crystal and Isaac sound? I hope you won't mind me around."

What Camus got in the next second was excited squeal from the future Cgnus saint, Camus smiled at how happy Hyoga was at the news. Camus let a thin smile formed in his lips, oh yes… he found the next Aquarius saint, his heir…

* * *

**Rodorio, **Cyllene Road

"So Hyoga and Jabu are around in Rodorio?" Shun asked hopefully even though he didn't really want to meet Jabu, he was mean to Shun. Gardna and Crystal nodded dumbly, as they didn't really pay attention to what Shun asked, wondering where the two boys ran off to."Tenma! We could meet Hyoga! And maybe Shiryu!" Shun didn't mention Ikki because Daidalos already told him that Guilty who was likely Ikki's master was very strict and disliked this kind of event, off course Daidalos left out about how violent Guilty was with his disciple.

Tenma didn't know what to think about the prospect of meeting another trainee from Japan, Shun was nice to him but… "I know Hyoga is Crystal's disciple… but who is Shiryu?" He asked curiously.

"He is training in Rozan! Do you think trainees from Rozan came with their master to sanctuary?" Shun asked back innocently.

The Pegasus saint shook his head, "Uhm Shun… there are no trainees just trainee."

"EH?"

Tenma raised his forefinger; "There is only one cloth in Rozan together with Libra which belong to the master of Rozan so… this Shiryu you were talking about must be the only disciple there. Roushi also never took a disciple before and…"

"Roushi never came back to sanctuary for more than two hundred years brat…" DeathMask cut him in, "He is busy watching waterfall and I bet your friend is doing the same by now…" in the same time Roushi and Shiryu who were meditating in front of waterfall sneezed.

Tenma narrowed his eyes, he always felt something squirming on his chest whenever they were talking about the old Libra saint. He never met Roushi, and he didn't want to. There was strange feeling that telling him to not see him no matter how curious he was. "Right…"

"Oh well…" Shun looked down, "At least I could see Hyoga." He turned to Daidalos, "Master is it alright if I see Hyoga?"

Daidalos nodded, "That's if Lord DeathMask didn't mind you tagging along."

DeathMask was about to say he didn't want to see Camus, but Tenma cut him in, "Off course! Just leave Shun with us, and later we will drop him to Silver Lyre once we are done!" Tenma offered excitedly, one of his boot stomped on DeathMask's left foot.

"Tenma…" DeathMask growled.

"Save it Masky! I have something to say to Camus immediately, and he won't be happy if I delay it!" He stated then waved a good bye to silver trio as he dragged Shun by his hand. "Let's go Shun!"

"Uhm!" Shun nodded as they began to run.

"Woi! You damn brats!" And DeathMask sprinted to follow the two.

After DeathMask was gone from their sight Gardna just realized something, "Hey guys… did Pegasus call Lord DeathMask… Masky? Did I hear that right?"

"…"

"… Did he really?"

Crystal smartly took a conclusion, "Don't tell a single soul… if we want to keep our soul attached to our body." He stated as the other two nodded sagely.

Review please!

next chap: Replay of Demon training, and Mu's regret

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**Naw... I hope you like this chap! One of reason I do long chap is because... I can't get enough Shun! I already hold myself back for three chaps without him... and last chap he only got so little ^^; **

**I hope I didn't make Tenma seems too strong, in fact I didn't want to make him as strong as gold saint by 7 yrs old, or as strong as they were his age. Not like I want to say he is weak, in fact in LC he only need two years training! And he obviously stronger than average bronze. And no he hadn't master 7th sense! There is a reason why he hasn't later! Shun just started his training so... but I can deal with his training later!**

**As for Camus and Hyoga... I just found I need to make them in different way, so from now on both Isaac and Hyoga would be trained by both Camus and Crystal saint, but off course Camus will go back to sanctuary once in a while ^^ as for why Camus think Hyoga could succeed him well... Camus is not as cold as original story, dealing with a brat like Tenma in daily basis will melt someone ne? Camus in fact since few years ago spend less time in Siberia, because he was needed in sanctuary and I set situation in sanctuary is more welcoming for gold saints to be home there... it was stated in episode G most gold saints rarely present in sanctuary notably Aldebaran and Camus... So there is background from episode G I used ^^Hyoga changed not because I like him or anything I did state I only fave Shun and Seiya out of bronze group... I just feel so-so for Hyoga and Shiryu but because as you see gold saints' unity is stronger so does lower rank saints ^^/ I just feel this kind of environment could change people for good! And also because I hate Hyoga fawning over a corpse for no good reason! **

**I ever read a review mention, galaxian tournament is not a pleasant arc... I admit but that have to happen!**

**I change few characterizations here from original, notably Kraken Isaac, that's on purpose. And Hyoga too… but I am not sure, as I wasn't paying attention to other Bronze… maybe you found me weird to fave Seiya and Shun but not Shiryu or Hyoga who seems more popular than Seiya. So don't sue me -.-' if they are OOC but I will try to characterize them at least interesting. And other… sorry in this chap Shaka is mean, I just think he can snap when stressed. **

**Shiryu, Mu and ROushi will appear in next chap...Saori and Seika too!  
**

**As for who is Shun's master... he got to stay with Daidalos, well... I just think that's better and I want to keep Shun from knowing too much about internal affair of sanctuary!**

**I planned to insert what happened four years ago with Shaka and Mu, but the mood in this chap is just not fit for another scene of angst... so I will insert it in next chap **

**next chap in side story: SHun's first day in Andromeda island, **I already give some clue of what happened in this chap up there XDDD So you already get a spoiler ho ho ho poor Spica and Daidalos XDDD I make Spica and Leda as good because... well... I just feel like to do that.

**ja ne!  
**


	5. Redemption and Twisted Truth

**Glad at last I could write a short author note, let's say you might hate me for this chap. I receive comment that hope Saori would be more like Sasha, I do try to make her likable but like Sasha simply impossible due one raised as ojou-sama and the other raised in a slum area with warm big family. It's just not possible okay? And I really so annoyed at how difficult to write this chapter! Due to massive angst and hilarity!**

**BTW for Gardna and Jabu I did take RockLee and Gai from NAruto as model but mind you I didn't copy, Gardna is not Gai and Jabu is definitely nothing like Lee~**

THERE IS NO YAOI! EVEN THOUGH I AM SURE SHAKAXMU FANS WILL SQUEAL, IT'S FRIENDSHIP! GROAR!

2Feb 2011 update: beta-ed~

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* * *

**

**=Redemption and Twisted Truth=**

Camus and Hyoga were still enjoying their afternoon tea; much to the Aquarius saint's delight, Hyoga was fond of literature and science. Hyoga's blue eyes were sparkling in admiration as he listened to Camus' explanation about the theory of their cold cosmos, something Hyoga would achieve one day. They were about to leave when Hyoga suddenly pressed his face against the window quite loudly, Camus almost scared that Hyoga would break the glass. But much to his shock Hyoga hopped off of the chair and then sprinted down the stairs, once again leaving Camus behind. Camus smiled when he saw the reason Hyoga was so flustered through the window, two boys were walking together right in front of the café and Hyoga was just in time to stop them from going anywhere.

The ice saint shrugged as he walked down the stairs calmly, wondering what Hyoga had in mind for Jabu and Isaac for running off. When the three trainees entered Camus' field of vision once he exited the café, Camus couldn't stop a smile forming on his lips. Isaac and Jabu were sitting on the ground with folded legs, no doubt a very uncomfortable position. Camus recalled reading about this style of sitting, commonly used in the east, a strict formal way when they sat on the floor with the use of a not chair. And Hyoga was towering in front of them with folded arms; Camus noted that Hyoga interestingly had chilled air around him, no doubt unconsciously emitting his cold cosmos due to anger.

"So… mind telling me why you guys ran off to who knows where?" Hyoga asked threateningly.

Isaac gulped, "Uhm you see… because you…" He trailed off nervously.

Hyoga cut him in, "I am sure I only used twenty five minutes from thirty minutes. I told you, so don't give me that I was taking too long!"

Jabu huffed, "But sitting doing nothing is sooooooo boring Hyoga!" He growled angrily but quickly looked down when he saw absolute fury on Hyoga's eyes, "And why we have to sit like this? My legs feel numb!" Jabu whined. "I am not Shiryu, you know!"

"That's the point… just in case you didn't know, you have worried me and our masters…" Hyoga stated tonelessly, and at Jabu's questioning look he added. "And yes Jabu, including your master!"

Jabu paled at that, "Master Gardna knows?" He squeaked.

"Yes…" Camus joined in the conversation, "Your master knows… and he wont let you go unpunished for this, you have ashamed your master Jabu. Do you know that?"

The future unicorn saint blinked at Camus, wondering who was this haughty man, "Err… who are you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, "And what did I do to embarrass my master?"

Isaac covered Jabu's mouth, smiling nervously at Camus. "Forgive me, Master Camus! And Jabu just started his training so he didn't know. He he he…"

Camus sighed, "Never mind that Isaac, and as for what you have done Jabu… Isaac."

"Hey! I though Isaac and Hyoga's master is the Crystal saint? So who…" He cut off Camus, which earned him a hit on the head by both of ice saint's disciple.

"Shut up Jabu! And don't cut in when someone is talking!" Hyoga growled as crossed his arms on his chest menacingly.

The ice saint rubbed his head, wondering why he had to deal with this. "Hyoga… let him be, and both of you… in short your masters somehow found themselves short one of their disciple which wouldn't happen if you had listened to Hyoga, and to think their superiors knew this humiliating event…" Camus explained coldly, "How embarrassed they would be, hm?"

Isaac gulped, painfully aware of what happened. "Did you scold Master Crystal?" He asked timidly, "Did you… Master Camus?"

Camus closed his eyes, "I did…" He admitted, "Because Crystal and Gardna dared to put trust in you two, who are not ready for it. That's irresponsible…"

Silence…

Isaac hoped he could find a hole or freeze himself on the spot, on the other hand Jabu was still confused. "Why is no one telling me who this guy is?" Jabu asked again, sounded offended because everyone was ignoring him.

Before Hyoga and Isaac could go for another hit on Jabu's head, Camus stopped them. "Hyoga, Isaac… enough! And Jabu… I am the master of Crystal saint, my name is Aquarius Camus." He explained tiredly, "And Gardna… I am sure he is not far away…" Camus suddenly turned his face to the left, amused smiled painted his lips.

"Camus!" Tenma chirped happily, "Hey! Nice timing! I just got that finished by the way." He babbled. "And..."

Camus raised his hand, telling Tenma to stop babbling. "Tenma… later, DeathMask… what happened?" He asked coldly.

The Italian saint groaned, "What happened every single time I take my eyes off of this brat!" He spat angrily as pointing at Tenma who grinned widely.

"Whatever…" Camus grumbled, then went to grab Jabu's collar like a cat holding a kitten. Jabu blinked in confusion as he was shoved to a man who looked like a bandit, "Can you deliver this kid to Gardna?"

"What am I? A delivery service?" He barked angrily.

Camus narrowed his eyes, "Do you fancy a replica of Cocytus for your home?"

"Fine!" DeathMask growled as snatched Jabu from Camus' hand then teleported from the spit in the next second.

Tenma laughed out loud, "Well… that's quite a way to shoo Masky, Camus! Anyway… it's done!"

The Aquarius saint shot him a look, "Good… and Tenma, shouldn't you be worried for the boy on your back?" Camus asked as looking at the green mop on Tenma's shoulder, "He seems… sick, and why are you piggybacking him?"

"Ah…" Tenma looked back at his shoulder, "I was running a bit too fast, he couldn't keep up with me so I'm giving him a piggyback." Tenma explained with a grin, Camus didn't believe Tenma was just a bit too fast if the boy's condition was any indication, "But it seems Shun is still a bit dizzy."

"Shun?" Hyoga's ears perked up then ran to them, "Shun? What happened to you?" Hyoga asked in horror as looking at his green haired friend.

Shun had swirling eyes as his head leaned on Tenma's shoulder limply, "Hello Hyoga…" He greeted absentmindedly, "Long time no see… sorry I think… I feel a bit sick…" He stammered weakly.

Hyoga patted Shun's back worriedly," A bit sick?" He asked incredulously, "You seems like someone who just had a boarding on a ship in the middle of storm!" Hyoga exclaimed dryly.

"Uhm sorry Shun! Here… help yourself onto the ground." At that, Hyoga raised an eyebrow as Tenma let Shun hop off of his back. "I am really sorry I didn't pay attention to my speed."

Hyoga huffed, "You know what? If Ikki knew…" He shuddered at the imagination of how furious Ikki would be if he saw Shun's condition. "Anyway… who are you? I never saw you before…" Then his eyes widened at Tenma's cloth, "Hey! You're already a saint!"

Tenma grinned, "I know you… Hyoga right? Crystal's new disciple!" Then he turned to Camus, "Would you introduce me to him or do I do it myself?"

Camus shrugged, "Hyoga… this is the Pegasus saint, his name is Tenma."

Tenma rolled his eyes at how Camus proceeded to introduce him, not even a yes or no for his question. Probably thought it was a waste of time, "Well… nice to meet you Hyoga!"

Hyoga nodded, "Nice to meet you too… are you eight like me?"

"Nu uh…" Tenma shook his head, "I am seven, the same as Shun!"

"So how…" Hyoga began curiously.

Camus cut in, "Hyoga, It's not something surprising to gain sainthood as young as Tenma did if you start earlier." He explained loftily, "Off course, Tenma here is still counted as beginner in saint world."

"Thanks for the reminder…" Tenma muttered as rolling his eyes, "Anyway, you want to hear about that or not?" He asked huffing impatiently.

The ice saint chuckled softly, "Okay… Hyoga, stay with your friend here." He commanded, "I need to talk with Tenma for a while."

Hyoga beamed, "Yes master!"

* * *

"Okay… can you repeat that again? All of them are WHAT?" Tenma exclaimed in disbelief, his mouth was gaping open.

Camus rolled his eyes, "Tenma, close your mouth… and yes! They are brothers from the same father!" Then he raised his hand, "Stop Tenma! You won't ask me how that happened again, will you? Because you know how Shura and Aiolia react the last time they heard that taboo question out of your mouth…"

Tenma huffed, "Well excuse me for being curious! I still don't understand why everyone was so flustered in explaining how human reproduce… and why Shura and Aiolia fainted just because I asked!" He exclaimed indignantly.

"Trust me Tenma… usually how children react about the bird and the bee talk is not as carefree as you." He stated tiredly, the day Tenma came out with the question was a blast, especially for Aiolia and Shura. "Okay, enough of this trivial talk, you said it's done?"

Tenma nodded, "Just like you and Shaka said… it's really easy to approach other Japanese trainee in Rodorio for a kid like me. Especially my oriental face… they thought I was a Japanese, they let their guards down." He stated seriously, "And here is the list of boys who seems to be looking for a chance to escape from saint training." He said as handed a folded paper he produced from his pocket. "But really… why do I have to keep this a secret from the others except you and Shaka? I had to sneak out from Masky because of it!"

"Oh please… it's better they didn't know, less people the better. You know we did this without approval from the Pope." He paused, "And we didn't do this purely out of pity for those orphans… it's better they are out now without losing their life, so better trainees can take their place." Camus unfolded the paper, reading name by name carefully. "Good, how about your friend… that Shun?"

He shook his head, "No… that boy will stay, I can see he is meant to be a saint Camus."

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

"… Camus… I don't think he will give up, even if you offer him to drop out of his training, that we can guarantee him a peaceful and normal life afterward like we did those boys on the list." Tenma said with a smile, "He won't…"

The ice saint raised an eyebrow; Tenma never stated something right of the bat for something like this. He of all people had learned what so called the weight of words as a saint, "When I trust your judgment… you sound too sure about this child, you just met him today… " He paused, "But then… is this one of your quirks kicking in again?"

He blinked repeatedly, wondering why Camus came up with such a remark. Camus rarely said anything once Tenma made a decision, Camus and Shaka usually would only say either yes or no and even didn't answer, leaving Tenma to figured it out by himself. "My quirk? No it's my gut feeling!"

"Oh…" Tenma could imagine Camus was smirking inside despite of his indifferent face, Camus after all on the inside was nowhere as icy as his exterior.

"So Shun… are you okay at Andromeda Island?" Hyoga asked worriedly, Shun after all kept crying in their one-year training preparation and he really worried about him the most of all of his brothers. Hyoga knew Shun was not weak, in fact as long as it was not sparing Shun could keep up with him and Shiryu, with Ikki on the top because he was the oldest. Shun cried mostly because he disliked fighting, and Tatsumi as if he knew this weak spot of Shun's kept assigning him in spar training. "I mean sparing… I hope your fellow trainees are not mean to you?"

Shun shook his head, "They are so nice to me Hyoga, my master Daidalos is very kind too." He paused, "But sparing… I am…" He stammered.

Hyoga sighed in relief, "You know Shun, one of these days you should just go along even though you dislike it." He muttered, "I know you don't like hurting people but we are in training to be a saint, and Saint is warrior of hope! We have to fight Shun!" He paused, "We promised to go through this together and one day we will reunited once again with Ikki and Shiryu!" He reminded Shun sternly.

"I know…" Shun muttered softly, "But…"

"Shun!" Hyoga scolded, "Come on, sparing is not that bad! If you keep hesitating how can you gain your cloth? You don't want to be a saint together with us anymore?"

"No! I want to!" Shun exclaimed, "I am… really sorry Hyoga, I will try harder!"

The future ice saint sighed, "Well… I really hope you know what's good for you Shun."

…

"Eeh… Hyoga, I don't want to interrupt but…" Isaac trailed off; he was still sitting on the ground and completely left out. "My legs… I can't feel it!"

Shun and Hyoga looked at him intently, "Oh yeah, Shun… this is my fellow trainee from Siberia. His name is Isaac."

Shun nodded, "Nice to meet you Isaac, I am Shun."

Isaac groaned, "While I am happy to know you Shun…" He trailed off, "Hyoga! Can you please help me stand? And why can Jabu go and I am still like this?" He whined.

"Nah…" Hyoga deadpanned, "Because Jabu is not really my business, he is his master's business… and it's master Camus who allowed him to leave! And who's stopping you from standing?" Hyoga asked incredulously, "You can stand if you want…"

"But I can't, my legs are…" He mumbled in pain as struggling to move his numb legs.

"I will not help you and Shun…" Hyoga stopped him from offering a hand to Isaac, "Don't help him either."

* * *

Camus looked at Isaac noting he had quite an interesting expression as he lay on the ground, no doubt the result of folded legs. Isaac must had tried to stand up on his own and got a jolt of electric pain from his legs. "Hyoga, is he okay?"

Hyoga nodded, "Don't worry Master Camus, he will be fine in few minutes."

"Good…" Camus nodded, "And both of you shall return to Crystal soon, Shun… I assume your master is with Crystal and Gardna by now." He turned to Shun, "I am sorry but DeathMask didn't return and I have urgent business with Tenma here, so I shall have to call your master to fetch all of you."

Shun was happy to go back to his fellow islanders of Andromeda, but he was sad that he might will not see Hyoga and Tenma for a long time after this. "Thank you Lord Camus…" He said as bowed.

Tenma grinned, "Sorry Shun, but it's emergency!" Then he turned to Isaac, "By the way Isaac, long time no see and what happened to you?" He asked incredulously pointing at twitching Isaac who moaned in pain.

"You just realized I am exist here?" Isaac asked back, "You are so… cruel!"

"Isaac…" Camus warned, "Tenma… just now Aphrodite was screaming through my cosmos…" He muttered in annoyance as rubbing his ears as if that can ease his headache. "He dragged DeathMask from Silver Lyre because it's already late and Shura… just returned."

"Oops…" Tenma gulped imagining what Shura would do if he knew Tenma had not return to sanctuary at this hour. Tenma might be already a saint but was still a child; therefore he had not allowed wandering alone by himself at night.

Camus nodded in agreement, "Shaka and Aiolia are too busy at the moment but Shura definitely is looking for you, so go back to sanctuary ahead of me will you? Before Shura decides to cut DeathMask in two…"

The Pegasus saint chuckled sheepishly, "Err… anyway…that's means I have to go back now…" He trailed off as ignoring Isaac's death glare, "Shun I gotta see you again in the near future so, see you later!" He chirped as waving his hands.

"Eh…?" Before Shun could ask what he meant by that Tenma already sprinted at top speed back to Sanctuary. "Tenma… he is gone…" Shun sweat dropped as Tenma was gone from their sight in the next second.

Hyoga looked at the direction Tenma ran off to, "He is quite a weird guy, and what did he mean by that?" He turned to Camus curiously, "Master Camus?"

Camus shook his head, "I don't know…" He stated, at disbelief look in Hyoga's face, he added "Trust me Hyoga… trying to understand Tenma's thinking pattern even for me… is less possible than figuring out how to violate the law of conservation energy." He stated loftily, as no one could figure out how Tenma could come out with his incredulous ideas, which only made sense for Tenma alone. Both him and Shaka had already stopped trying to figure it out after what happened to DeathMask three years ago.

"Huh?" In which many question marks appeared above Hyoga's and Shun's head.

* * *

**Back to Silver Lyre Tavern**

"Huwaaaaaa… I am really sorry Master Gardnaaaaaaaa!" Jabu cried dramatically with runny nose.

Gardna sniffed, "Jabuuuuu you really have no idea! I was so worried and how the hell did you get yourself lost? Do you want to die?" He roared between his sobs.

Crystal and Daidalos didn't know if they had to be touched or dumbfounded at the scene before them, and if you thought Scutum Gardna was scolding his disciple and threatened to maim him… or something along that line… that's not really what happened. In fact the Scutum saint and Jabu was crying as hugging each other, Jabu was apologizing and Gardna… even though he was cursing and scolding Jabu, his voice was shaky because of crying, and he didn't mean his curses for real at all.

Jabu was crying to his master's chest, "I don't want to die master! I promise I will never ever disobey you again!"

"You better mean it damn brat!" He sobbed as tightening his hug, "And tomorrow you have to do five hundreds push ups and three hundreds laps!"

"Yes master! I will do it even if I have to die! I swear to you in Athena's name, Ojou-sama's and yours!" Jabu exclaimed with gusto.

Gardna had fire on his eyes, "Don't you dare die on me Jabu! As my disciple you will come out alive from my hellish training!" He roared.

"Yes MASTER GARDNA!" Jabu saluted.

-.-'

"Hey…" Daidalos called Crystal who was still dumbfounded at the drama from the hugging pair. "How about we go fetch our disciples now and leave these two alone?"

Crystal nodded dumbly, "Okay but I am still trying to figure out where that mountain peak came from and also the dramatic thunder storm…" He said as he pointed at the background to the hugging Jabu and Gardna.

Daidalos shook his head, "Crystal… you know what? Some things is better off none of our concern, or you will fry your precious brain." He stated loftily.

"Err… on second thought…" He said as looking at Gardna and Jabu who was still off in their own little world, "You are right…" He agreed walking to the door followed by Daidalos who was shaking his head.

**

* * *

**

**Sanctuary**

Tenma had just passed by the coliseum when DeathMask and Aphrodite grabbed him with the speed of light. He yelped, "Hey! What's wrong with you Masky, Dite?"

Aphrodite hugged the younger boy in bone crushing hug, "You have no idea how scared I was when Shura demanded to know why you and DeathMAsk was still wondering around Rodorio at this hour!"

"Err…" Tenma was dumbfounded, while it was a bit funny to know a gold saint could fear their equal, it was understandable if you added the fact that angry gold saints were at least three times stronger in a way. And Shura was scary when he was angry, second only to Shaka and Camus when they were really enraged. "Dite please let go, I assure you that Shura won't chop you guys to pieces okay?"

Shura appeared just in time on their back, "Why would I chop these two in pieces?" He asked calmly, startling the DeathMask and Aphrodite.

"Shura you damn mountain goat! Don't pop out of nowhere!" DeathMask yelled as rubbing his poor heart.

The Excalibur bearer huffed, "It's such a shame that you could be unaware of my presence." He stated haughtily, "Maybe you should train more if you still want to serve Athena…"

DeathMask growled, "You…"

"Masky, Shura! Enough! Please don't start fighting for such trivial matter okay?" Tenma sighed, wondering why DeathMask and Shura always seek to taunt each other. The two of them backed away, turning their face away from each other in disdain. "You two… Anyway… welcome home Shura!" Tenma chirped as hugging Shura's waist, which as tall as he could get when hugging the older saint.

Shura ruffled Tenma's messy hair, "I am home Tenma, so… I hear Crab over there brought you to Rodorio today?"

He nodded, "Yes, it's so fun! I get new friends!"

"Really? Tell me…"

Tenma squealed, "You see there is a boy, he is Japanese and…"

DeathMask scoffed at the retreating form of Shura and Tenma, on the other hand Aphrodite sat on the ground as sighing in relief because he had just escape Shura's sharp limbs from dissecting him.

**

* * *

**

**Temple of Maiden **

Because of their flooded paperwork fiasco had not ended, the argument or rather bickering which certainly was not befitting of gold saints was escalating into a heated battle of curses. And the centre off course was Virgo temple; it was almost like a warzone. And currently because Shaka was too exhausted to argue, so he wisely saved his energy fighting the paperwork with his ears plugged, it was Milo and Aiolia who engaged in an argument err… cursing.

"What's your problem you kitty cat? Why do I have to rewrite this damn documentation file?" Milo growled as he slammed a thick file on Aiolia's desk which scattering the paperwork's in the process.

Aiolia snarled at him, "Who are you called kitty cat? Listen Milo… it's not organized! And you used inappropriate words in it too! So don't complain to my face about it, you damn insect!"

Galan who was standing beside Aiolia's desk shook his head, "Lord Aiolia… Scorpio is not insect." He pointed out loftily.

"That's right!" Milo agreed with Galan, and then barked back, "And it's your adept who told me that you said… if I want to complain I have to personally say it to your face!" And once again Aiolia's desk shook because Milo was ramming his fist on it.

Aiolia stood up then walked to Milo threateningly, "Well… you can complain _if _you have a _good_ reason!" He pointed out angrily, "But you only complaining because you are too lazy to rewrite your shitty report! You stupid Arthropod!

Galan, adept of Aiolia nodded sagely. "That's right milord, Scorpio is Arthropod… but it's the phylum which includes insects. Scorpion is actually an Arachnid."

"**Shut up Galan!"** They chorused, snarling at the calm adept.

Galan bowed, "As you wish milord, and please continue the discussion… don't mind this little unworthy adept's presence." He said calmly as began to pick up the scattered paperwork back to its pile, leaving the two saints back to their heated argument.

Tenma entered the scene just in time when they were yelling about feline, Spider, and what else related to their constellation. "Err… Milo, Aio… what are you guys doing?" He asked curiously, "Why you guys are having biology discussion?"

Milo and Aio turned their attention to the Pegasus saint, and in the next second Milo lunged at him. "Tenma…" He whined as brushing his cheek to Tenma's, "Aiolia is sooooo mean to me!"

Aiolia snarled, "Don't drag Tenma into this Milo!"

The Pegasus saint rolled his eyes, "Now… what are you guys fighting about this time?" Sometimes he wondered since when it was him who had to babysit gold saints, it was his daily routine other than training, to help them with their office work. He was like an errand boy; beside he was a future Sagittarius gold saint in the publics eyes. Other than that if Shaka, Camus and Aldebaran were not present, busy or too lazy to prevent 1000 days of war it had to be him who stopped it on daily basis.

Milo began to whine again, "He demand me to rewrite fifty pages of documentation file! It's so cruel of Aio~ right?"

Aiolia yanked Tenma off of Milo, "Don't listen to this distant relative of spider Tenma! See what kind of document he made!" Aiolia said as opened it then shoved it on Tenma's face.

"…" Tenma sighed, "Milo… this simply is no good." At Milo's pout Tenma sighed, usually Milo was capable of writing decent work but he simply had no patience to work on one that consume a lot of time. "Okay… I will help you rewrite it, just copy from this one and alter it a bit to be presentable, okay?"

The Scorpio saint grinned, "Thank you my sweet little brother! You are the best!"

"Tenma! Don't spoil him like that!" Aiolia warned.

Milo growled, "Huh? What's your problem Kitty…"

The Pegasus saint cut them in before it escalated to a 1000 days war. "Stop! Milo… Aiolia, we have too many works unfinished so…" He sighed, "Let's get this document done as quick as possible so we can move on to the next one before the time's up ok?" He pleaded. "Please…"

Milo and Aiolia glared at each other before turned their face away chorusing, "Fine!" Then walked back to their respective desk.

* * *

"Tenma…" Shaka called. "Good job to stop those two…" He commented as sorting out the papers.

The Pegasus saint sighed, "Why didn't you stop them? You didn't want to have a 1000 days of war in your office, do you?"

Shaka unplugged his ears, "Did you say something?" At Tenma's pout he smirked, "Anyway Camus would be back soon, so how is it? He told you about it?"

Tenma groaned, "Shaka, I don't think I want to be the one to tell you about it." He stated, "It's really a shit-storm!"

"Tenma… language!" Shaka warned.

He grinned sheepishly, "Oops!"

* * *

The next day fortunately all paperwork had disappear from their office and after they took a nice and long rest, a storm couldn't be avoided anymore as Camus gathered all gold saints in his temple except Aldebaran who was still traveling around the world.

"THEY ARE WHAT?" They chorused, fortunately Camus and Tenma managed to cover their ears just in time.

Camus titled his head to the side, "Well… that's what Hyoga told me, and I am sure this child is not capable of lying and he simply has no reason to lie, at least not to me."

Tenma nodded in agreement, "It's understatement, he hero-worships you Camus~"

Milo snickered at that, "Hoo… so now Camus' got himself a fanboy?" At Camus' glare Milo backed away, "Just kidding!"

He cleared his throat, "So… as you guys know I have not reported this to our Pope yet, because he is still in the middle of his meditation. And you know how long it would last…" Camus stated with a sigh.

Aiolia stood up from his seat, "Okay Camus… I seriously can't digest that, and I feel like someone pranked me, even worse that what Milo did to me!" He muttered almost whining.

Milo nodded in agreement, "I mean… I knew some of them are brothers! But I have no idea… all of them are fathered by that rich old man!" He wrinkled his nose in disdain, "And the fact the oldest boy according to profiles I filed here… " Milo muttered as flipped through pages of thick files on his lap, "The oldest is ten years old and only four of them!" He shuddered, "That's really… chills me out man! How old this Kido anyway? And HOW all these 100 boys, their ages range from seven to ten! How that Kido…"

Shura and Aiolia blushed deep red, "Shut up Milo! Who cares about that! And that's not what we should be concerned about!" Shura yelled.

"But!" Milo pouted.

"Milo! Enough!" Camus warned then turned to Shaka who was shaking his head. "What do you think? Shaka…"

Shaka held his chin, "It's plainly obvious this Kido have a hidden agenda to go as far as sending his own sons to us, they obviously would die… and all of us know it's unlikely more than five would survive their saint training."

The French saint shook his head, "Hyoga didn't think Kido cares about them, and from what he told me…" Camus trailed off coldly, "If Kido could use his money to find out the location of our training grounds it would be easy to get his hand on our yearly report of death rate…" At that Milo and Aiolia cringed, that was theirs and Aldebaran's job. Deep down they were boiling if someone had betrayed Athena for money and working under them to boot, their finger were twitching as they planed what they would do once they got their hands on these traitors... "But the fact Kido told them to draw paper from a box to decide their fate…"

Tenma cringed, "This old man seems to be taking the 'saints are chosen by constellation' a bit too far…" He stated, "Not even we use that kind of method!"

Shaka raised his hand, "So actually he could wisely gauge the trainees' ability and send them accordingly to it, which actually…" Shaka shook his head, "Never mind that, but still this imply Kido thinks this is a game?"

Camus leaned his body back against the backrest of his chair, "Who knows? But all of them were told to go back to Japan once they gain their cloth."

Shura stood up angrily, "How dare that man trying to claim our treasures that was given to us by Athena? Who is he to…" He gritted his teeth, and his fist shook in anger.

"Shura…" Shaka called, "You do know all saints have the right to go whenever they please as long as they are still in contact with sanctuary and answers our call for mission." He stated loftily, "It's within our law… if those children decided to go back, off course… we have no right to do anything as long as that's the only thing they do in the future."

DeathMask yawned, "Hm… so what are we worried about? It's very little chance his spawns would survive the six years training…" He cackled evilly, "And Camus…" Before he could open his mouth DeathMask cut him in, "I didn't say that Hyoga will not make it, but we don't have to worry about that brat even if he did gain his cloth… right?"

Camus huffed, "Right…"

Aphrodite raised his hand, "Camus, I am sure you trust this Hyoga enough to not keep an eye on him. And from how much information we got from him…" He trailed off, "I think we can safely let him off of the hook, whatever happen in the next six years and what Kido has planned…"

"I get what you mean, I don't like asking Hyoga for such thing but then again it's for good reason…" The ice saint mumbled under his breath.

"But surely if only your disciple…" Shaka trailed off, "If Kido finds out? He might very well cut all contact from Hyoga." He pointed out.

Camus nodded in agreement, "I know…I think it's just about time for Kido to be wary of him, this child is very observant Shaka… though I doubt Kido cares enough to notice but, it never hurts to be careful and planning one step ahead." Then he turned to Tenma, "Hyoga told me a lot about your new friend Shun, he said Shun was on par with him and the new disciple of Roushi in term of physical strength… but he always hesitates in spar… fearing he would injure his opponents."

Tenma raised an eyebrow, and DeathMask was laughing. "What? So you said that girly brat is actually quite strong but refuse to hurt anyone?"

Shura looked at DeathMask in disdain then turned to Camus, "This child… there is no way Kido would be suspicious of him but… don't tell me you want Tenma to…"

The Pegasus saint stood up abruptly, "I understand Camus, however I don't think there is any need to be sneaky around Shun…" He stated sternly, "We are not doing anything wrong anyway… I will keep an eye on him, but no…" He said as waving his forefinger, "No sneaky-sneaky…"

Camus and Shaka chuckled softly, followed by all gold saints. "Do what you want Tenma…" Shaka said softly as a smile formed on his lips. "Beside you never fail us…"

"Okey-dokey!" He saluted with a big grin.

**

* * *

**

**Japan, Kido Mansion**

"Seika-oneesan!" Saori squealed happily as hugging her adoptive sister, she was glad Seika at last was back from school. She was a bit unhappy when she knew Seika's class ended later than hers. "Okaerinasai (welcome home)!"

Seika smiled at Saori, "Tadaima (I am home) Saori, I hope you behaves well today…"

She nodded, "Yes! I didn't throw away flowers in Ikebana class anymore! Miss Hanakomachi was so pleased today!'" Saori babbled proudly. "She said I would become a great lady!"

The brown haired girl chuckled softly, ruffling Saori's silky lilac locks lovingly. "I am glad to hear that, as expected from my princess… " Seika praised her which earned excited squeal from Saori, "Remember, no more being a meanie okay?"

"I know! Kido Saori from now on will listen to her onee-san!" She chirped as clung to Seika's hand adoringly. "Nee-san, I want to show you my flowers from Ikebana class today! Come on!" She pleaded, dragging Seika in hurry to her room as if the flower would wilt any second before she had a chance to show it to Seika.

She was glad Saori had began to change for the better even though it was purely to please Seika alone. Everyone was so happy for Saori because she started to behave more kindly, no longer selfish and demanding. Before all servants were kind to her because her grandfather paid them, none of the staff however had really liked Saori. In fact they were always trying to avoid any work that related to Saori, because it was really a torture to serve such a spoiled princess. And Mitsumasa-sama didn't do anything about it, if anything he let Saori do anything she pleases. Even Seika thought at first it was quite bizarre of her adoptive grandfather to spoil Saori to such extend, it was as if he thought Saori had right to do so, she was a goddess in his eyes. And Seika walked into their lives at just the right moment when Saori was on the peak of her tyrannical behavior.

* * *

FlashBack

"_Horsy! Faster Jabu! Faster!" Saori commanded from the top of Jabu's back whipping her horsewhip around. Jabu was panting wildly but trying as best as he could to comply his ojou-sama's wish. _

_Ikki and Hyoga wrinkled their nose in disdain at the scene, Shun wanted to cry because Jabu looked so pitiful. Shiryu looked at them from the corner of his eyes, disgusted at how willing Jabu served that girl, no dignity at all! "Huh… don't waste your tears for Jabu, Shun…" Shiryu stated as looked up from his book; he was sitting beneath a massive tree on Kido's garden, together with Ikki, Shun and Hyoga. "It's not worth it…"_

"_But Jabu looks so…"Shun muttered sadly._

_Ikki groaned, "Shun! He asked for it! None of us likes being used like an animal like Jabu does, so let him have it!"_

_Hyoga scoffed, "Better him than us…" He stated, "Beside Ikki is right, let Jabu have what he wants!"_

_Shiryu suddenly stand up, his book rolled off of his lap. "Hey! Isn't that Seika-neesan who takes care of us in Star Orphanage?" _

"_You are right… it's her! What is she doing here?" Ikki wondered out loud, "Oh… damn…" Ikki cursed out loud, "She won't stay still if she sees Jabu enslaved by Saori like that!"_

_Shun stammered, "Nii-san… I think she is coming in their direction, she looks so… angry!"_

_Hyoga raised an eyebrow, "Uhm… this Seika-neesan, what are you guys so worried about? It's not like she would dare to raise her hand against that…" Hyoga trailed off as looking at Seika who snatched the horsewhip away from Saori, "That… Saori… oh, she did it! Jesus Christ! She did it!"_

"_Niisan! Seika-nee is…" Shun yelped in fear, afraid what Saori would do to Seika for ruining her fun._

"_Shun… calm down! We know Seika is tough! If anything happens… well, I don't mind jumping to her defense." Ikki muttered as crackled his knuckle. "Just damn that Kido and baldy Tatsumi!"_

_Shiryu nodded in agreement, "Well… the worse could happen is being locked inside a dark room the whole day and get hit few times with Tatsumi's shinai…" He pointed out tiredly, "Not bad…"_

"_Oh I also…" Shun began._

"**_Shun… just stay where you are, and don't move!" _**_They warned in chorus._

_Shun whimpered, "Okay…"_

"_What are you doing?" Saori yelled at the older girl angrily, hopping off of Jabu's back abruptly, and Jabu sat up with tiredness painted his face, panting heavily._

_Seika threw the horsewhip away, "That's my question ojou-chan! That's no way of treating other human being!"_

_Saori scowled, "Who are you telling me what I have to do? Even my grandfather never stop me from having my fun!"_

"_And I am nothing like your grandfather!" Seika stated sternly, towering with an intimidating pose in front of Saori. "I don't know what kind of man Kido-san is! He suddenly took my brothers away and forced them to train! I honestly didn't have a good impression of him and certainly worsened when I saw what you did to this boy!" Seika yelled as pointed at Jabu. _

"_So?" Saori crossed her arms on her chest, "Why you care how I treat them? They stay here, eating from my grandfather's money! They should…"_

_The older girl cut her in, "They should obey you like a servant?" She asked incredulously, "Ojou-chan… while it's true all of them get a home, food and education from your grandfather… you still have no right!" She stated sternly, "It's still wrong to do whatever you want to them! They have feelings! A human like you! And it's not like you would be really happy from having your fun like this!"_

"_How do you know whether I was happy or not?" She asked in disdain. _

_Seika smiled warmly, locking her dark brown orbs to Saori's green ones. "You have such a beautiful eyes, yet… so lonely."_

_Saori was taken back at her sudden statement, a gentle voice that sounded so sharp for her ears. Deep down Saori knew Seika was right that she was so lonely. No children her age could put up with her attitude, that's why she was glad when her grandfather took one hundred orphan boys to their home. Even though they were not her friends at least they would be her toys. But no matter how much she played with them only Jabu who willingly obeyed her, the others simply had no choice and obeyed her half-heartedly. And behind her back, they spoke many painful words about her._

"_What do you know about me?" Saori yelled at Seika, she didn't want this girl who appeared out of nowhere telling her innermost feelings that even her grandfather couldn't understand. "You speak as if you know!"_

"_I know…" Seika stated, "You want people to like you, but you didn't know how to make them like you. So you demand it from them, expecting them to like you with your demand… like your grandfather does." She muttered softly, reaching out to pet Saori's head in which the younger froze. It felt nice to be touched gently by Seika, it was not because Seika was paid by her grandfather, Seika had no obligation to treat her nicely, Saori had no hold to make Seika treat her with love but… "And it's hurts right? That they didn't love you like you want, that's why Ojou-chan… stop hurting yourself." Seika kneeled so her eyes became in the same level as Saori's, smiling warmly at her. Her hand still gently stroked Saori's locks, "I am sorry if I startled you with my scolding but…" Seika's face became painful, "You were just like me when I lost my mother, I was longing for her love, seeking it from everyone around me." Her eyes closed in sadness, "But in the end I realize no one can replace her, no one can love me like she did."_

_Saori sobbed, biting her lips as tears began to leak from her eyes. "Shut up! Don't say such thing to me!" She won't show weakness! She was Kido Saori, granddaughter of the great Kido Mitsumasa!_

_Seka chuckled softly, "What a proud and dignified princess we have here…" She commented with a smile, "You know Ojou-chan? You don't have to be afraid to stand up against an older and scaaary girl like me" Seika said jokingly, "Standing with pride and determination just like…" She trailed off as stood up, " The Goddess of wisdom and war, Athena…"_

_The younger girl blushed deep red, she never praised by someone like that. Everyone call her smart and pretty but other than her grandfather, Tatsumi, no one praised her sincerely like Seika did. "Uhm… uhm I…" She turned her red face away, "Off course! I am Kido Saori after all!"_

_The four boys who at first were so worried, gaped at the scene before them, how the hell had Seika managed to scold that spoiled princess like that? And in the end Saori seemed to forget she had been offended in the first place!_

_Hyoga clapped his hands, "Wow… "_

"_That's Seika-nee for you…" Shiryuu muttered in amused tone. _

_Shun sighed in relieve, "Seika-neesan is so cool!"_

_Ikki paled when he saw Tatsumi entered the scene, "Uh Oh… baldy Tatsumi! Damn!"_

_Tatsumi was fuming mad that an unknown girl popped up out of nowhere then yelling at his beloved ojou-sama! "You… how dare you sneak in and treated ojou-sama rudely! Who the hell do you think you are?"_

_Seika turned back, "I am really sorry for sneaking in, but when I asked politely… your security won't let me in!" She stated, "And I don't see why they won't let harmless little girl like me who just wants to see how well her little brothers here? I off course… was suspicious of what you did to these boys because of it."_

_The bald man growled, "That's none of your business! Now I will throw you out of our manor!" He yelled as grabbed Seika's arm roughly and she yelped in pain. _

"_Tatsumi!" Saori called him harshly, "Let her go!"_

"_But ojou-sama! I can't just let this rude brat wander around and insult you! I just…" He trailed off nervously._

_Saori took a deep breath, "Tatsumi! Are you telling me that you can't obey my command?"_

"_No! But!"_

"_Tatsumi! Don't make me repeat myself!" Saori warned threateningly._

_Tatsumi released Seika grumpily, scowling at the brown haired girl. "Tatsumi… what happened?"_

_The butler yelped in shock then turning around as bowed deeply to his master. "It's… this girl sneaked in to our manor then yelling at Ojou-sama, she was being rude to Saori-sama!"_

_Seika was offended at the last part, "Hey! Don't speak such lies about me!" She exclaimed, "I don't think you even heard half of what I told your Ojou-sama here! I did scold her for treating this boy poorly but I didn't say anything rude!"_

_The Japanese butler growled, but ignored by Seika with turning her face away. Mitsumasa turned to his granddaughter, "Who speaks the truth Saori?"_

"_This girl." Saori answered confidently, "Like she said… she did scold me for playing horsy with Jabu but she didn't say anything rude to me." She admitted. _

"_Tatsumi…" Mitsumasa called, "Leave us alone, now…" He commanded sternly to his butler who bowed frantically before scramming out of their sight. He turned to Seika, clearing his throat, "My apologize for his rudeness, however what are you doing here Ojou-san?"_

_Seika straightened her back, locking her eyes to Mitsumasa's, "I knew it's very inappropriate for me to sneak in your manor, however I did ask politely to your security to at least call the boys I took care of in orphanage to the gate so I can see them, I wanted to know how well they are." She stated confidently, "I always thought of them like my own brother, so when they refused me so rudely I can't help but wonder why they go so far to keep these boys locked here."_

_Mitsumasa scoffed, "I see… but then how you can sneak in? The gate is locked and only my security can open it from their post."_

"_I wait till one of your cars entered the gate off course." Seika answered confidently as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "There are many security cameras but it was quite easy for a little girl like me to sneak in. Or maybe it was your security gaurds who didn't pay attention."_

_The Japanese man chuckled softly, "You are very brave ojou-san… so now you see these boys wandering around my garden, they seems fine enough to you?"_

_The brown haired girl scoffed, "They seems fine and well but definitely not happy here Kido-san, all of them seems so tense here. And…" She trailed off as pointing at Jabu, "While I think playing horsy is really a normal game for children, I don't think using a real horsewhip is…" _

_Before Saori could open her mouth Mitsumasa replied, "As far as I know Jabu never refuse playing this game, he even offer himself when Saori asked other boys to be her horse." He stated confidently. _

"_In fact I don't really blame Saori for what she did to Jabu." Seika stated sternly, "But you Kido-san, how you can let her do whatever she pleases to the point she have no idea what is right and wrong? Do you know you hurt her for it? Your granddaughter even didn't know how to interact with children her age! She didn't know what she should and should not!"_

"_Are you accusing me for being a bad grandfather?" He asked incredulously, "I raise her since she was just a baby with all love I have, I let her to have everything she wanted!" _

"_Spoiling her rotten to the point she can't differ between playing with and toying other children is not right!" Seika replied almost raising her voice, at first she disliked this man for taking children from orphanage by force but now it was because he had let Saori astray with his love. "You may love her with all your heart, but can't you see what you have done to her? Did you see with what kind of eyes these boys made at her when she was playing horsy like you put it?"_

_Mitsumasa felt like his dignity had been torn in two by the young girl before him, but he couldn't utter a word to defend himself. He thought Saori had the right to get everything she wanted from her future saints, that because of this she would suffer so much for who she was to be later. He had willingly sacrificed his sons for her, he thought playing with her was nothing compared to what his sons should do for her in the future. But was that really what Saori wanted? Heaven's will or rather… Athena's?_

"_Ojii-san?" Saori called him worriedly when he didn't say anything in return, the lilac haired girl knew by this time she should yell at Seika for being rude to her ojii-san but words died on her throat. Seika was right, Saori couldn't deny all the boys hated her for her selfishness except Jabu, and because Ojii-san always let her have everything she wanted, she couldn't help but become selfish. _

_He sighed tiredly, "Maybe… you are right ojou-san…" He admitted weakly, "Saori come…" Then turned to Seika, "And you young lady… go home, you can return three days later. It's departure day of these boys to their fate…" _

"_Where you will send them to?" Seika demanded in shock._

_Mitsumasa led Saori away from Seika, and then turned briefly to her. "Where? You can ask them yourself by that time…" And by that he went back to his mansion leaving Seika standing by herself and then security gathered around her and all Seika could do was obeying them to go back to her orphanage._

**_

* * *

_**

**_The day of departure_**

"_I will go to China, a place called Goroho…" Shiryu answered curtly. _

_Seika nodded, "China… that's quite far, how about you Shun, Ikki, Hyoga?"_

_She had just introduced to Hyoga, a blond boy who undoubtedly was only half japanese. Hyoga rolled his eyes up, "Uhm… Siberia, but because Russia is also cold I don't think I will have a hard time adapting."_

"_I will go to Somalia." Shun answered shyly, "The training ground's name is Andromeda Island… they said I will go there with a boat later." _

_Ikki kept his mouth shut but Seika's stern gaze forced him to open his mouth, "Mine is nowhere to be found on the map, but the name is Queen Island." He answered, leaving the death word out on purpose. Shun was already worried enough for him, Ikki didn't need Seika to freak out over the name. Luckily all of his friends and brother took cue of why Ikki left out the little bits, so they didn't say anything. _

_Seika nodded even though she could feel that Ikki was hiding something from her, "I am glad at least I can be here for your departure boys. When you return six years later please come to see me, Miho and our old orphanage."_

_Shiryu raised an eyebrow, "You will stay in orphanage?"_

_She nodded, "I love to take care of children Shiryu-kun, beside I want to be where you can find me when you return… I always think of you as my brothers. And Miho… she is also think the same, so both of us will be there when you return."_

"_Thank you Seika-neesan, and we promise we will return!" They smiled, then waved her a goodbye, "Well it's time for our bus… let's go guys!"_

"_See you in six years, later boys!" Seika yelled at retreating forms of her brothers._

_

* * *

_

_Few days later_

_Seika didn't believe what she heard; Mitsumasa Kido wanted to adopt her. He promised she could visit her orphanage whenever she pleases, he off course will enroll her to a prestigious school, a dream she thought would never come true due to finance problem. Seika knew it would be foolish to refuse beside if she did accept him; Mitsumasa would become permanent donator for their poor orphanage. What else she could want? _

"_That's a very generous offer Kido-san, but why you want to adopt me?" She asked politely, "What I did few days ago in your manor is simply very rude of me, and I don't think I would be easily forgiven but here you offer me…" She trailed off confusedly._

"_Seika…" Mitsumasa cut her in, there was a weird feeling squirming when she heard him call her by her given name. But she could not understand it. "While I can't deny how much my pride has been wounded because a mere girl like you defeated me in an argument, when not even my rivals in business could." He began with an amused tone, "I lost because I couldn't deny the truth you spoke, I was blind to what I have done to my Saori. I thought giving her everything is how I could express my love for her, but I wasn't aware that because of my love she would became selfish and clueless at how to interact with other people. I should know… what I have done is wrong."_

_Seika sighed in relief; she was glad if Kido-san understood and changed for the better and also Saori. "I am glad to hear that Kido-san, however… that didn't explain why you want to adopt me, and I don't think Saori would be happy to have me as her sister."_

_He chuckled softly, "In fact it's Saori who asked for you." At Seika's shocked expression he added, "No Seika, Saori did ask but she didn't demand me to adopt you at all. It's my decision for Saori but not to please her."_

"_Then what for? Why does Saori want me?" Seika asked confusedly. _

_Kido shook his head, "My reason is to thank you for opening my eyes Seika, that you show me how wrong I was all this time." He admitted calmly, "As for Saori… you can ask her yourself." Seika nodded at that, "So Seika, what is your decision?"_

"_I…"_

* * *

"_Tell me what should I do to make people like me." Saori demanded with a red face at her new sister. _

_The older girl was dumbfounded at Saori's demand, while it was quite impolite of Saori to demand; nevertheless she was cute with that blush on her face, which didn't really match her glaring green orbs. Undoubtedly Saori was using all courage she had to ask Seika, "Well Saori, for a start… you can start by adding please when you are asking something of someone." _

_Saori nodded then took a deep breath, "Please tell me what should I do to make people to like me." She said monotonously. _

_Seika didn't want to be mean, but if Saori really want to correct herself from now on… "Saori, your voice sounds forced… when you ask… it should come out from your heart, there is nothing to be ashamed of to ask someone's help. Let what you feel slip into your voice."_

_The lilac haired girl straightened her posture, blushing redder if possible. "I… I want people to like me… sincerely… to like me because it's me, not because Ojii-san paid them to. Can you tell me? Please…Onee-san…" Her usual dignified voice sounded pleading almost like she wanted to cry. _

_Smile formed on her lips, and Seika knew from now on her new sister would become a better person. And she would make sure to be there to help Saori, "Ne… you can't imagine how glad I am to hear that… my dear imouto…"_

_End of Flashback_

* * *

"Onee-san can we visit Miho-chan and the others this weekend?" Saori asked sweetly. At first Saori was hesitant and shy to see so many children her age in the orphanage but soon she found a new friendship with Miho, and the blue haired girl taught her so many girl games she never knew before. Too bad their tight schedule as heirs of Kido foundation only allowed them to visit the orphanage once a week.

Saori really like Miho and almost wanted her ojii-san to adopt her too, but Seika objected her wish gently. Seika wanted Miho and other orphanage children to spend their school life in normal school, Seika was happy to be Saori's sister but the duty as Kido's heiress certainly was not something she wanted Miho to shoulder. And thankfully Saori understood why Seika didn't want Kido to adopt Miho. In a few months Seika learned that world of rich people as she put it, when she was in the orphanage, it was not as glamorous like a fairytale but full of trickery. Many business partners of Kido praised Seika and Saori for their beauty and intelligence, but there was no sincerity in their voice. All they wanted was to be closer with heiresses of Kido foundation. Seika thought she could blame these people partially for Saori's attitude; no child could stand in the mids of those greedy wolves in sheeps clothing.

"Can we?" She asked again eagerly.

Seika chuckled at her, "Only if you promise to not become a picky princess and eat your carrots for dinner tonight."

Saori pouted, "But… I hate carrots!"

She rolled her eyes, "I will ask our chef to chop it really fine tonight Saori… You will never know when you chew it." She paused, "Carrot is good for your eyes."

The lilac haired girl pondered for a moment then beamed, "Okay Onee-san! But… we still get to visit orphanage this weekend ne?"

"Off course my princess…" Seika answered, and then Saori lunged at her with an excited squeal.

**

* * *

**

**Temple of Jeweled Urn**

Shaka poured Assam tea to his cup, pleased when the sweet smell invaded his nostril. He set down the teapot then poured different tea from another teapot to Camus' cup. Shaka prepared two kind of tea for their afternoon snack, Assam was Indian tea and it didn't suit Camus' taste so Shaka usually prepared Camus' favorite Earl Grey tea or Ceylon.

"So…" Shaka began as he put the porcelain teapot down carefully. "What do you want to talk about which you didn't want anyone but me to know?"

Camus massaged his temple tiredly, "Sagittarius cloth and our missing goddess…"

Shaka's eyes widened, "Camus… did you find something about them?"

The ice saint sighed, "You have no idea how thankful I was when you told me about the truth four years ago Shaka, because if you did not…" He trailed off, "I would never know how I would have taken this news."

The Indian looked away as if ashamed, "Thankful?" He repeated mockingly, "Camus… you have no idea how much I wish to not involve anyone in this lie, but the fact is I am too weak to the point I have to drag you along…" He muttered in disdain.

"Shaka…" Camus sighed, "I never blamed you for telling me, I always knew what we did is betraying our comrades… or even Athena herself." He stated sternly, "But Shaka… we have no other choice, I would rather live this lie than watching our sanctuary crumble to ruin."

"But I wish I could be the only one who shoulders this burden but I was too weak Camus, and of all people… it's you who I…" Shaka buried his face on his hands, it as if he was crying and tried to hide it.

Camus shook his head, "Shaka… we saints are human, and we have our limits even you who is called the closest to God." Camus muttered calmly, "And do you know… four years ago was the first time… we... I saw you so… human…"

Shaka mumbled incoherent words against his palms, "Closest to God? I see no God in me since I felt how powerless I was when I saw so much suffering in my country, when all of us almost torn eachother apart because of distrust…" He listed sadly in despair, "But I despaired the most for how helpless I was to the point I betrayed my closest friend, that I have to hurt him… because I have no other choice…"

* * *

Four years ago…

_Sky was crying as tears endlessly poured to mother earth without pause and by each passing moment the voice of tears became louder. Thunder and lightning rendered the sky in blinding light, sadness and despair was painted like a piece of art in the canvas of the sky. The land of Jamir became dark as if goddess of night had been awaken from her sleep earlier than usual, and the tower of Jamir stood proudly in the middle of it._

"_Agreement?" Mu repeated absentmindedly, locking his eyes in disbelief to Shaka's closed one. "Shaka… what are you…?"_

_The Indian saint chuckled softly, "I will let him reign as long as he is strong enough to maintain order in sanctuary." He stated with the coldest voice that even Camus couldn't match. "My lips shall not speak of what he did as long as…"_

_Before even he realized it, his hand right hand had been connected to Shaka's left cheek. His porcelain face reddened as blood dripped from his lips, Shaka opened his cerulean blue eyes slowly gazing at his friend with indifferent face. The Aries saint was trembling out of anger and disbelief; anger to Shaka for what he had done but in the same time he couldn't belief Shaka would do such thing. His right hand trembled in fear, he had raised his fist against Shaka, and he meant it to hurt his friend, something he never did before. _

_Shaka noticed that Mu was trembling, his whole body shook but not because of anger but fear. Mu was no coward; Shaka knew the main reason was because Mu was scared of himself, scared that he was capable of hurting Shaka. "I… I…" He stammered in fear, "Why Shaka… why you…"_

"_Why I allied myself with your master's killer?" Shaka finished the sentence Mu couldn't bring himself to complete. "Because I no longer trust Athena." He paused, "No… that's not it, because in fact I never had faith in her."_

"_WHY?" Mu asked, his voice became hoarse as tears began to leak from his emerald orbs. "Why Shaka? You of all people… we were raised since we could barely talk as a saint! Her warrior of hope!"_

_Shaka sighed; his blue eyes gazed coldly at his friend. "I am just not so foolish to trust a weak goddess like her." He answered curtly._

"_Weak?" Mu repeated in disbelief, "What were you talking about Shaka? Athena won many war since the age of myth to protect human kind! She is no weak goddess!" The Aries saint tried to defend his goddess. _

_The Virgo saint stood up abruptly, startling the Aries. Mu knew Shaka always had an intimidating aura around him, but Mu found Shaka had became more intimidating than he ever remembered. His tranquility and charisma always invite respect even Saga and Aiolos didn't look at Shaka as their junior but equal, he always had an overwhelming presence that made him worthy to occupy that rarefield spot between God and men. In the past Mu always saw him as a friend he could admire, but now… Shaka was… intimidating to the point it scared even him. _

_Shaka hissed through clenched teeth, "If she is that strong, holy war would already have ended a long time ago but all she did was postpone it! She never really won the war with Hades or Poseidon!" The Virgo saint stated, "And if she isn't that weak, she would be in sanctuary by now ruling us her saints! But what happened? She was dethroned when she was a baby, your master and Aiolos killed in such a tragic way! Now tell me Mu, HOW I can believe in her?"_

"_Shaka!" Mu snapped with fury burned on his eyes, "Even if what you said is true, Athena has protected us, human kind since the age of myth! If she didn't…"_

"_In fact we never tried to fight on our own!" Shaka stated, "Whoever in power now maybe better than her!"_

_The one who had killed his master? Better than their goddess? That criminal who took his master away? The very reason for his exile?_

"_SHAKA! HOW DARE YOU!"_

_

* * *

_

_Mu couldn't hold back his anger anymore as his cosmos exploded, leaving a gaping hole on tower of Jamir. Mu panted lightly from sudden raise of emotion that triggered his cosmos, he looked around at his room, which turned to shipwreck chaos. His eyes widened when Shaka was nowhere to be found, he ran to the hole he had created and he found the Virgo saint sat on the ground, drenched wet but looked indifferent. _

_When he jumped down and landed in front of Shaka, Mu fought his urge to apologize when he saw Shaka's left hand bled heavily, maybe scratched by flying debris. "Shaka… please tell me this is a lie! You can't side with that impersonator, it just… can't be you!" He cried with trembling voice, "Did he… threaten you? That… must be it right?" He asked, almost pleading. _

"…" _Shaka stood up abruptly, wiping forgotten blood on his lips nonchalantly._

"_Shaka… say something!" Mu yelled._

_The Virgo saint narrowed his eyes, "In fact it's me who threatened him." At Mu's widened eyes, Shaka chuckled in irony. "I just think… how if he tried to end this holy war once and for all, maybe this man who managed to dethrone Athena can do what Athena couldn't?"_

_Step by step toward his traitorous friend felt heavier, the Aries saint's eyes were wet wih rain and tears as he gripped the Virgo's neck, but there was no strength on his grip. His hands that capable of raining comets to earth felt number than ever, "This is a lie…" He stated. "This is not true… that man is not worthy of your trust Shaka!"_

"_I didn't trust him…" Shaka admitted coldly, at glimmer of hope on Mu's eyes Shaka narrowed his eyes, "But maybe I don't trust Athena even more, in fact I never…"_

"_Shaka!" Mu's fist stopped right in front of Shaka's chest, trembling in anger. "What do you mean you never…"_

"_I said I never thought of Athena as my goddess! A goddess I should worship… NO… I never thought of her as such…" He hissed through clenched teeth._

_Mu withdrew his fist, "Even so… " He trailed off in disbelief, "Why have you helped that impersonator to live this lie? Did you know that you deceive everyone? Our comrades!" _

_Shaka spoke with mirth on his voice, "I know… but sanctuary would crumble faster than a fort of sand if that happened, right? At Mu's widened eyes he added, "And you Mu… what would you do about it?"_

_The Aries saint was taken back; as much as he despised it, Shaka was right. In fact Sanctuary stood stronger than ever before by now, something he could not understand why. He didn't know why but for some reason all of the gold saints left gathered in sanctuary, something that he thought was impossible due to fact some of his comrades couldn't stand each other, or they disliked to be confined in sanctuary which the latter reason applied to Shaka, Camus and DeathMask. But they did live in sanctuary now, leaving him and Roushi as the only gold saints who occupied their training ground. If only he didn't know the truth behind his master's and Aiolos' death maybe he would… he would be with them… living in that lie but… _

_Mu shook his head off of that outrageous thought, "What do you mean Shaka? You can't imply it would be better if the truth shall be forever…"_

"_Maybe it's for the best…" Even so Shaka sounded so sure, almost like he was demanding his friend to keep his mouth shut. _

"_That's no justice Shaka!" _

"_That's what you think…" Shaka barked back, "You are really naïve Mu…"_

"_Enough Shaka!" Mu snapped, "Now tell me, what for have you come here? Just to insult my naivety?" He asked angrily, "Do you just want to ask me to shut my mouth? Or you come to kill me?" _

_SHaka titled his head to the side, "None of that… I just want to know what is your belief? What is your justice?"_

"_My justice?" Mu asked incredulously, "Definitely not with that of fake pope!"_

_The Indian saint narrowed his eyes, titling his head to the side. "I see… it's with Athena like a good saint Pope Shion taught you to be?" Shaka chuckled softly. "You are always a role model… just like Aiolos…" _

_Mu clenched his fish, his teeth gritted in anger. "What about Aiolos? I am sure you know that… he is not a traitor, but the fake pope you protected is!"_

"_Yes… he is innocent…" Shaka nodded in agreement, "In fact I found out about everything because I found Aiolos is innocent…"_

_Mu's eyes widened at that, "Shaka… you found out? Knowing you…" He trailed off in disbelief, "Unless it was a solid proof you won't…"_

_Shaka chuckled softly, lacing his voice with mirth. "Oh yes… a message he left on his temple before he fled, and I happened to find it…"_

"Shaka you…" Mu called him in disbelief.

"As expected of Aiolos really… **'_To you young boys who have reached this temple, know that I entrust Athena's life in your hands, Aiolos…' _**_Shaka recited melodiously, "I guess he foresaw Athena would return one day with saints who believe in her, wherever she might be now…"_

_Mu didn't knew he had to rejoice when he heard that, because… "Shaka if you know this… "_

"_Don't start!" Shaka snapped, "I told you…it doesn't matter, if Athena couldn't prove herself as a true goddess, who is worthy enough for me to pledge myself." He stated haughtily, "And one day when she tries to reclaim her place Mu… I guess you would side with her, will you not?"_

_His eyes burned in anger, "And you Shaka? You will raise your hand against Athena, goddess who has protected humanity for so long? Against all my master Shion had taught us since we were children?"_

"_Why not?" Shaka asked back, "And as for your master's teaching… if he is so right in your eyes, the fact he was killed for that belief convince me that he is not always right after all!"_

_That was the last straw; the Aries saint shook in anger. His sight went hazy as his heart was beating loudly against his ribcage. Shaka was already beyond him, he always though Shion's teaching as their most precious memory, about how Athena saved the world and humanity, and her saints too. But SHaka had rejected even that, how dare he? How could Shaka did this… _

"_SHaka… take that back…" He muttered, his face locked to the ground._

"_What?"_

"_Take that back!" He yelled again._

"_No!"_

"_You will regret it if you didn't!" Mu warned angrily, his fist was glowing gold. "Take it back! Everything you have said!"_

"_No!"_

"_Shaka!" Mu was walking toward Shaka slowly, his fist was bleeding as nails dug to his flesh in anger. "Don't be so stubborn, you make me losing my patience!" He roared with shaky voice._

"_Oh really?" Shaka sneered, "Then go ahead and kill me if you want!" _

"_SHAKA!" And that fist, drenched in blood, rain and anger was coming closer. Everything became slow as if time tried to stop the inevitable. And then suddenly a large cosmos appeared, covering earth of Jamir with its blinding light._

"_STOP IT! MU!" He exclaimed, and the giant cosmos flared to its highest intensity and the younger saints froze in their place. _

_Shaka's eyes widened at the newcomer and Mu's fist stopped in the mid-air. Their eyes widened then called the newcomer's name. **"Roushi!"**_

**

* * *

**

**China, Goroho (Present time)**

Shiryu had just finished his meditation; he stood up carefully then walked to infamous waterfall of Rozan. As a disciple of Roushi his training always concentrated on manipulating water, disrupting its flow with cosmos. He took a deep breath before dipping his fist to the water; Roushi had told him before he started trying to break atoms within a rock he had to try to tap into cosmos first. If Shiryu managed to do this the water around his fist would swirl like a whirlpool, so far he managed to get the water spin a little around his fist but it was nowhere near the desirable level Roushi told him to achieve. But then again Roushi said he was learning and learning need patience.

Shunrei giggled, watching Shiryu burn his cosmos, his eyes locked on the water as if trying to bore a hole on the water surface with his glare. "Shiryu, I don't think the water will spin if you glare at it like that."

Shiryu blushed deep red, "I wasn't glaring at the water!"

"Yes you didn't…" Shunrei agreed with a smile, "You just looking at it intently…"

The future dragon saint huffed, looking away with a pout. "Huh!"

The oldest saint of Athena looked at his disciple and adopted daughter, amused at the sight of Shunrei trying to apologize for teasing Shiryu. He stood up from his lotus position then called them, "Shiryu! Shunrei… I will go to meet a friend, don't go anywhere dangerous when I am not here…" He warned them sternly.

Shiryu and Shunrei looked up at the old master, "Again Roushi?" Shiryu asked, "Not to be rude Roushi, but you never tell me who is this your friend you visit once in a while…"

He laughed good-naturedly, "Ho ho ho Shiryu… it's not like I will never tell you." Dohko said calmly, "But for now I leave it to you to find out and for me to know. This is my way of telling you…"

Shiryu and Shunrei sweat-dropped, "Is that suppose to be a joke Roushi?" The Japanese boy asked.

"Not funny for you?" He asked sounded disappointed.

"Uhm… my deepest apologize Roushi but…" Shiryu trailed off, "I don't see what's so funny."

Dohko rolled his eyes, why were Japanese boys like Tenma and Shiryu were so difficult to please with a joke? Tenma was even worse than Shiryu, his blood brother would look at him as if he was an idiot then told him that he should try the joke on Shion and ask the Tibetan saint what's wrong with his head.

**

* * *

**

**Jamir, Lemurian Tower**

CLANK, CLANK!

Mu wiped sweat that gathered around his forehead, panting lightly from working the whole day on the broken cloth. He smiled when he felt familiar cosmos teleported right behind him; the Aries saint turned his back. "Good afternoon Roushi, it's very nice of you to visit me…"

Dohko laughed good-naturedly, "Well Mu, it seems I am addicted to your herb tea…" Mu chuckled softly at that, Roushi never got tired of using his herb tea as a reason for his visit. When in fact he was just try to ease Mu's loneliness a little. "Pardon this old man but I got these moon cakes from a good lady who lives near Goroho and I can't resist sharing it to bribe you for brewing your special herb tea for me…" He whispered jokingly.

"Roushi… I don't mind brewing some tea." He assured the older saint, "Please go ahead to my living room, I need a quick bath and new clothes if you don't mind." He said as looking at his dusty clothes.

"Off course Mu, go ahead… and this old man will patiently wait for the tea." He muttered with a smile.

* * *

Dohko took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of tea. "Oh my… nothing is better than a good snack and refreshing herb tea in the afternoon."

Mu nodded in agreement as he cut the moon cake in few little pieces then put it on his plate, smiling when he saw the cake had the salted egg he liked on it. "By the way Roushi, how about your new disciple? That Japanese boy who training for the dragon cloth."

He smiled at that, "A very good mannered boy, who strife to be a strong warrior… kind of remind me of a Japanese samurai." Dohko said as took a sip of tea.

"Is that so?" Mu asked again, "I am just a bit worried, suddenly sanctuary sends a child to you Roushi, and a Japanese at that…" He added worriedly, "It's just the news of sanctuary didn't think twice to accept one hundred Japanese boys from outsider… it bothers me…"

The old Libra sighed, "I understand Mu, but then again… I am thankful they gave Shiryu to me. He is a good disciple to me and a good playmate for Shunrei." He muttered softly with a fond smile, "I don't think I should worry too much when the one in charge for human resources in sanctuary are…"

Mu chuckled softly at that, "Well Milo and Aiolia just can't possibly have a hidden agenda or something…" At that Dohko nodded in agreement, the suddenly Mu's face became sad. "They are nothing like Shaka…"

"Mu…"

The Aries saint shook his head, wiping away tears that began to pool on the corner of his eyes. "I am sorry Roushi, maybe… it because of the scent of this herb tea. Shaka always love the smell… more than sandalwood he is so fond of…" He closed his eyes, "I don't think he like this tea anymore… not after…"

"Mu…" Dohko stopped him, "I am understand you feel guilty but… it's not your fault, nor Shaka's either. That time he just wanted to… protect you."

"I know… but I can't help but regretting… ashamed of myself to have so little faith on him." Mu muttered as looking down, "I always thought I knw him so well, but in fact I only know what Shaka allowed me to see… that I never knew the him that he hide beneath the mask of Virgo Shaka… I am… so…"

"Mu…"

_

* * *

_

_Flashback_

"_Roushi?" Mu called as he backed away from Shaka, "You left Goroho and came to Jamir?" He asked in disbelief. _

_The old saint looked at Mu then to Shaka, "Off course I can't stay idle with how chaotic the cosmos' I felt in Jamir were, and here I found Virgo and Aries saint… arguing? And it's about to escalate to 1000 days of war from what I see… well that is... if you Shaka, have a will even a little to fight back…" Dohko muttered to the Virgo saint, the old saint was impressed when he saw not even a twitch on Shaka's expression when he tried to reveal Shaka's real intention. _

_Dohko knew Mu was so angry, sad, confused and scared, he could feel it from Mu's cosmos. Shaka on the other hand, his cosmos even though on the surface was calm, underneath was full of sadness, regret and guilt without slight trace of anger. Mu was too angry to notice but then again the inexperienced young Aries would only notice calmness on the surface but not underneath, Dohko was well aware he could notice Shaka's real emotion only because of his experience. _

_The Libra saint can't help but be taken back when those cerulean orbs locked on him, mystic and ethereal blue that looked as cold as ice. Dohko never knew Asmita's eye color due to his blindness, Tenma did told him about Asmita's eyes, serene eyes with fairest blue he ever knew. Dohko chuckled softly, "Hoo… so these are famous eyes of Virgo Shaka, such a beautiful eyes yet feared by many for its destructive power…" He mused with a smile, "What a pity Shaka… you have to close your eyes to protect those around you…"_

_Shaka narrowed his eyes, wondering what the Libra saint wanted to imply. "Long time no see Roushi, I wonder why you came to our petty argument…"_

"_Shaka!" Mu snapped._

_Roushi shook his head, "Shaka… it's me who wonder why you went so far to get yourself punished by Mu…"He wondered out loud, "When if only…"_

_Shaka cut him in, "What are you talking about Roushi? Have you become senile in old age?" He asked as calm as he could, when inside he was panicking._

_Mu gasped in horror at blatant disrespect Shaka showed the old Libra, "Shaka... how insolent!"_

"_Dear me…" Dohko muttered tiredly, "Why are all Virgos are so fond of being cryptic when once in a while being straightforward would save them a lot of trouble." And that was one thing he always regretted about Asmita, if only Asmita could be honest of his insecurities of Athena nobody would be too wary of him including Rasgard. Instead of saying it out loud Asmita would always drop a cryptic remark, which puzzled everyone including Degel and Shion. This time he was not the same young and brash Dohko of Libra, age had taught him a lot of things. "Well young Shaka… I presume you also want to know my justice?" At his nod Dohko answered, "Just like two centuries ago… my justice would always be with our goddess… you will also think the same if you meet her."_

_Shaka narrowed his eyes at Roushi, "I doubt that…"He whispered._

_He never really knew the old Libra. But the fake pope stopped him from going for a moment before he could leave the throne room only to inform him that '**I guess you want to see Mu, right Shaka? Do as you please but in case you meet Roushi, bear in mind that you absolutely can't tell them anything about Tenma.' **And when Shaka asked the real reason of their oath of secrecy from Dohko, **'Libra Dohko was Tenma's mentor and blood brother in previous life.'**Shaka sighed, now he knew why Tenma was so fond of Libra temple, the boy obviously felt trace of Dohko's cosmos that left and that brought comfort for him._

_Mu looked back and forth between Shaka and Dohko, what did Roushi mean that Shaka was trying to get himself punished? What Shaka wanted actually? "Shaka… why you are being so stubborn?" He asked desperately, "I… don't understand!"_

"_Mu!" Dohko called him "Let him say what he would like to say to us…"He ordered the younger saint, "And Shaka it's enough, don't you think?"_

_The Virgo saint looked away, "No… it would never be… it's unforgiveable of me after all…" He muttered softly, then looked to horizon where sun had gone and moon began to rise to the sky, even the rain had began to cease. "My time is up, I promised to go back by tonight." He said tonelessly then took something from his pocket then threw it at Mu who caught it with ease._

_The young Aries' eyes widened at the sight of seal on letter he caught, it was official seal of the Pope. "Shaka, what is this? I won't accept any letter that come from…"_

_Shaka turned away, "It's not about you accept it or not, just don't rip it for your own sake… I went through quite a trouble to get it…" _

_When the Virgo saint began to walk away Mu hastily opened the envelope, his eyes widened as he scanned the letter quickly. It was a letter that formally declare he was allowed to stay in Jamir as long as he pleased, stating him being in Jamir as a blacksmith was an official mission therefore from now on not only was he was allowed to refuse all invitation and mission addressed to him, in fact none of that would ever be addressed to him again except for grave danger like holy war. He also was allowed to get himself a disciple without permission from the Pope, and he had not been declared as traitor therefore… even if he returned to sanctuary one day, no one would think of him as a traitor but a gold saint like his peers who stayed in sanctuary. Shaka… did this for him? _

"_Shaka wait!" Mu called desperately, running toward retreating form of Virgo. "Shaka… why did you do this? I should know… you put yourself in danger to get this! I should know if you really don't care you would not tell that fake Pope that you know the truth but… you did it to threaten him, just for this… for me? How you can be so…" _

"_Are you accusing me for being a fool?" He asked tonelessly, his pace slowed down. "I don't really care if you say so…"_

_Mu bit his bottom lip; his tears soaked his cheeks heavily. "If only you told me… I don't mind going back to sanctuary! I can't stand my master's killer but Shaka… I can't leave you alone, he might…"_

"_Don't be ridiculous… take note of last line of that letter. You can't return to sanctuary without permission, from the Pope himself or his advisor… which is me." Shaka stated coldly, "Go back to your tower Aries…"_

"_But I…"_

_Shaka stopped then turned around abruptly, yelling with strangled voice. "Go back I said! Return to your home Mu! Before I hit you for real!"_

_Mu closed his eyes, "Hit me… I did hit you out of anger, without trying to find out what do you want… your real feeling…"_

"_You are so…" Shaka hissed through clenched teeth, "You are an idiot!"_

"_Yes I am." Mu replied tonelessly. "I am an idiot for not realizing how much I pained you for my silence all this year, and I was so clueless of your intention… I even raise my fist against you… I…am…"_

"_Don't you dare say sorry Mu!" SHaka snapped, startling the Aries saint. "If you dare to apologize I would rather to forget I was once your friend! Don't make me feel lower than I already am!" _

_Mu's eyes widened, he didn't think Shaka would feel this guilty. That Shaka blamed himself so badly, "Shaka… you don't have to…"_

"_Enough Mu!" Shaka snapped then turned away, "It's okay… I am fine… just go back where you belong, your tower… far away from lies and deceit… " He muttered softly, "You shall live you life here… far from us… good bye…" And with that Shaka was no longer there, and Mu looked at where he was. He fell on his knees, sobbing uncontrollably like a child. Dohko approached the young Aries, whispering comforting words, which went unheard by the grieving Aries. _

_End of flashback_

**

* * *

**

**Sanctuary (Temple of Jewel Urn)**

"Athena and Sagittarius cloth are in Japan?" Shaka repeated what Camus told him in disbelief.

Camus nodded, "Yes… probably though, if we assume Aiolos was the one who told Kido about saints and Athena." He stated loftily, "Added with our previous assumption Aiolos was with Athena seven years ago, it's plausible to think Athena is in Japan with Kido…"

"Well… anything else Camus?" Shaka pressed.

"Hyoga said Kido has a granddaughter…" Camus informed Shaka as he poured himself another cup of tea, "Funny that a Japanese, a patriarch like Kido would choose a girl over his one hundred sons as his heir."

Shaka sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's almost unbelievable, everything just fall on its place so quickly..."

"Too convenient?" The French saint asked, "We found Athena and the missing Sagittarius… well not really, at least we have an idea where they are…" Camus muttered calmly, "So what should we would do?"

The Virgo saint took a sip of his tea, "Leave them be, there is no need to rush…" He said waving his hand, "Athena was seven this year, what she might possibly do better than when she was a baby?"

"And Sagittarius cloth without a saint is no good either, and Tenma is not meant to wear it and he can't anyway…" Camus sighed, "I can't believe even with our help he is still struggling to reach seventh sense, even though his cosmos without seventh sense is already so massive, abnormal even for a child his age. I don't think any of us was as strong as Tenma when we were his age without seventh sense..."

"Must be his quirk… or something to do with his peculiar soul again, but it's not really that bad. He is a type who grows in war…" Shaka stated regretfully, "But still… why Tenma have to go through all of this mess between Gods? Again and again…"

Camus sighed at that, "Shaka… we can't do anything about it."

"And I hate being so helpless…" He snapped to no one.

The Ice saint rolled his eyes to the side; Shaka was referring to that day. The day where Shaka told him the truth behind Aiolos' death and also…_  


* * *

_

_Flashback_

_Aiolia and Aldebaran paced back and forth at the entrance of White Ram temple, they were waiting for their Indian friend and they became worried by each passing moment. Camus walked in just in time when they bumped into each other for locking their eyes to the floor. "Aww…" They groaned in pain._

"_What are you doing here at this hour?" Camus asked with crossed arms._

_Aiolia looked up to him, "Shaka… he suddenly left sanctuary for India so early, he only told holy father about it."_

"_We are worried Camus… Shaka never left without telling us." Aldebaran added, then looked down the stairs, startled when he saw golden locks that stark in the darkness. "Shaka! Hey guys, it seems our Virgo is home!" Aldebaran quipped._

_But when they were about to greet him, their eyes widened at Shaka's state. He was drenched wet from hair to toe, his left cheek was swollen, there was trace of blood on his chin and his right arms bruised with dried blood still glued on his skin. That was the worst they had ever seen of Shaka._

_But before anyone could open their mouth someone called him, "Shaka! You are bleeding!"_

_All eyes turned back and found their charge toddled toward them with anxiety painted on his face, "Tenma?" Aiolia muttered in disbelief._

_Tenma ran to Shaka then hugged him, "Shaka is hurt? Are you okay?"_

_Shaka nodded, "I am fine… it's not as bad as it looks."_

"_Fine?" Aldebaran repeated in disbelief, "That's one hell of bruise on your face Shaka! Who did this to you?"_

_Shaka glared at Aldebaran, silencing him. "Don't ask…" He ordered coldly._

_Aiolia looked at him then to Camus, knowing Shaka's pride asking who had wounded him that badly simply the same as asking him to snap at you. "Shaka, okay… we will not ask but let us treat your wounds first before you return to your temple okay?"_

"_No!" He snapped._

"_Shaka!"_

_Tenma looked up, "Shaka, you are hurt… please let us treat you, please…" he asked pleadingly._

_Shaka shook his head, "No Tenma… I am fine on my own."_

_Aiolia knew Shaka was better at healing than him but it always better to have someone did it for you, "Fine… do what you want Shaka, but if you need help… feel free to call us."_

_Shaka nodded hesitantly before walked away with Tenma in tow._**_  


* * *

_**

**_Temple of Maiden_**

"_Tenma… leave me alone." Shaka ordered hims sternly. _

_The future Pegasus saint pouted, "No!"_

_They were in Shaka's bedroom laying on his bed, at first Shaka let Tenma followed him because he thought the boy would go up to main temple but no, Tenma refused to go anywhere. He was worried of Shaka and refused to leave the Virgo alone. "I would be fine, I did bandage my wound properly so…"_

_Tenma glared at him, Shaka knew that glare. A look he gave whenever he didn't appreciate being called an idiot. "I am not stupid." Which confirmed he was right about what disturbed Tenma, "You bandaged your wound but you didn't use cosmos to heal it! Why would Shaka want to be in pain? Why?" He asked childishly, and his eyes became glassy. _

"_I… am not putting myself in pain." He admitted in strangled voice, the truth was he couldn't. He felt he asked for the wound, a little comfort from his guilt for hiding the truth. How selfish of him to make Mu hurt him, just to make him feel a bit better. When in reality nothing had changed, he might had pained Mu even more. "I would be fine Tenma, I am just too tired to use cosmos now…"_

_Tenma shook his head, "I am scared Shaka…" He confessed, "Your wound is fine but…" His tiny hand rested on Shaka's heart, "It looks so painful here, Shaka is in pain?" That was more of a statement, Tenma looked up startled to find the Virgo saint's eyes were opened and he was crying. "Shaka… okay? Does it hurt?"_

_Shaka hugged the young child tightly; he had held his tears back since he saw Mu. But he couldn't show his tears to Mu, he should not. "I am so sorry Tenma…"_

_Tenma looked puzzled, "Why Shaka is sorry? Your heart is okay? Pain?" _

_For the first time on that day Shaka admitted honestly, "Yes Tenma… I am in pain, but it's okay… it will heal…" he muttered softly. _

"_May I sleep here with you tonight?" He asked innocently, "I am worried… Shaka would not be fine if I leave you alone."_

_Shaka laughed softly then lay down, ruffling Tenma's messy brown hair. "Yes Tenma… and thank you…"_

**_

* * *

_**

**_Temple of Maiden(2AM)_**

_/Shaka,,, open the door!/ Someone demanded through his cosmos, the Virgo saint woke up wondering who awoke him so rudely, he was startled when felt the familiar cold cosmos._

_/Camus! What do you want at this hour?/ He snapped angrily, he didn't appreciate anyone to bother his sleep, not to mention he afraid he would awake Tenma._

_Camus huffed, /I want an explanation of what happened to you, Shaka!/_

_/It's none of your business…/ __Shaka replied grumpily, /Go back to your temple Camus!/_

_The Ice saint shook his head, crackling joins on his fist. /Shaka, open the door before I freeze and blasted it to pieces./ Camus said in annoyed tone._

_Shaka couldn't believe what he had just heard, /You wouldn't dare Camus… you are not…/_

_/I will count till 3 Shaka so make your choice. 1… 2…/ __Camus counted threateningly._

_Shaka snapped, /Fine! I will open it!/ He growled as rushed to open it. After he came face to face to Camus, Shaka glared at him, /Camus this is so outrageous of you!/_

_/I spent too much time with Milo, I believe… / __He admitted coldly, /Let's talk somewhere quiet, because I am sure you don't want to awake Tenma./_

_Shaka was sorely tempted to refuse but who knows what Camus might up to next if he didn't comply, /Follow me, as much as dislike to invite you there but that's the only place I would choose in case I am forced./_

_The Ice saint smiled smugly,/Well, I will make sure you talk Virgo…/_

_/…Camus of Aquarius./ __Shaka warned._

**_

* * *

_**

**_Twin Sala Garden_**

_Heaven on earth must be something like an ethereal garden, where petals of flower dance in the air. Lush flowers grew covering every inch of the ground, making a rustled noise every time they took a step. The moon seemed less majestic because today's phase was half moon, like a heart that had been split in two. _

"_So… I never knew that you could have a garden like this, when you are nothing like Aphrodite…" Camus commented in amused tone._

_Shaka gave him a look, "This is the Twin Sala Garden… it belongs to Virgo saints who in the past achieved enlightenment…" _

_Camus processed that information for a moment before coming to a conclusion, "So it's belong to a Buddha like you? A replica of Twin Sala from Sidharta…"_

_The Virgo saint cut him in, "Not replica Camus, this merely our sanctuary to exhale the last breath as a saint…" Shaka stated as his hand traced the line on Sala's stem, "As for the other Twin Sala you were talking about, I was raised on the temple where it were standing till now…"_

"_That's interesting…" He commented coolly, "However I didn't come so rudely at 2 AM in the morning for your tree, I want to know where were you Shaka?"_

"_And what might make me oblige to such demand?" Shaka asked back coolly, took a seat in lotus position leaning against one of his tree. _

_Camus narrowed his eyes, "Because I knew whatever happened in Jamir must have take a toll of you to the point you are almost sure you have no strength left to argue with me Shaka."_

_Shaka was wondering since when he was so transparent that even Camus who was just a comrade on his book, not a close friend could see through him like this. "How did you know I was in Jamir?"_

_The Ice saint smiled at that, "A wild guess you so kindly confirmed."_

_Damn Aquarius… "Is that so?"_

"_Well for a start the only people out there who could do so much damage, in which you won't fight back because he is your closest friend is… only Mu." Camus deducted confidently. _

"_Who said I was pummeled and didn't fight back?" He asked coldly._

_Camus shook his head, "I didn't say you were pummeled, I said… you didn't fight back. I am a physician Shaka, it's easy to hear what your wound speaks of… it's merely a forensic study."_

_Shaka groaned, leaning against the tree. "What are you? A detective?"_

"_Answer my question first Shaka, if you are too tired for an argument." Camus was not amused when he saw Shaka clamped his mouth shut tightly, as if he was a child. They were children but they had long forgotten they were one. "Shaka I know both of us considered each other as comrades, almost a friend but never really close…" He began tiredly, "But I seriously think this time you will not tell Aldebaran or Aiolia anything. You need to tell someone from what I see…"_

_The Virgo scoffed, "And what makes you think I will tell you, when I won't tell my friends?"_

"_Because I am not like them Shaka, I am not saying Aldebaran or Aiolia are dumb but they think with this first." He said as jerking his thumb to his chest then to his temple, "And not here like me…"_

"…"

"_Well?"_

"_You will regret this Camus…" Shaka warned him, "Trust me, you better off never knowing…"_

"_And what would be better for you?" Camus asked again, "Because from what I see Shaka, you are losing it. Whatever happened, it burdened you to the point even someone like you is a wreck!"_

_Shaka snapped, "And dragging you to this mess is a better idea?" He asked incredulously._

_Camus narrowed his eyes, "I am a Pope advisor like you Shaka! I am worried for you as a comrade, friend and brother, you are very important to us!"_

"_Thank you very much but that's all the more reason for me to keep my mouth shut!" SHaka snapped  
_

"_And HOW is that going to help anyone?" He asked incredulously, "Shaka… all this time I can tell there are many things you can't tell Aiolia and Aldebaran because of the different way of thinking between you and them!" Then his hand rested on his chest, "But me! I am just like you Shaka… I am thinking with my head first and damned my heart if that's for the better!"_

_Shaka groaned, wondering why today was a complete chain of disaster, "You are so impossible today!"_

"_So… will you tell me now?"_

"_No."_

_Camus was losing his patience, as beaten as Shaka looked like he was still so stubborn. Camus never realized the one he would find, as the most stubborn among them was not Milo, not Aiolia, not DeathMask but Shaka of Virgo. "Shaka… you force me to be so low." He stated, "But I don't mind because better being low rather than leaving you like this alone!"_

"_What are you up to this time?" Shaka asked hesitantly. _

"_If you didn't tell me, I will tell everyone it's Mu who did this to you… that you guys were fighting." He stated which turned Shaka's face to absolute horror, "I am not trying to put Mu in an unpleasant position Shaka, but you know what our friends would think if Mu of all people could be mad enough to do this to you! Choose! Or by tomorrow all of us will interrogate you! And don't think you can get away from it!"_

_Shaka was thinking if this was for the best, that Camus might be the right person to know about this. "You will regret this Camus…"_

_Camus sighed, "Maybe… but I will regret it more if I leave you alone and also what might happen to the rest of us if you never tell me…" He assured Shaka with a smiled, "Now… can you tell me? Please Shaka…"_

"_I will tell but… promise me if you regret it, let me to erase your memories." He demanded as looked up._

_The Ice saint sighed, so much for him being so caring. "Fine… but don't try anything if I didn't regret it at all." And with that Camus learned everything, the truth of Aiolos' betrayal, Shion's death and their missing goddess. Camus also learned that even Shaka who called the most godly among them was a human when burdened by such secret, he saw Shaka broke down in tears when reminded what he had done to Mu, Aiolia and Shura for hiding the truth, his sorrow for how many lies they would pile for years, for the sake of their comrades._

**_

* * *

_**

**_Temple of maiden (Present)_**

"Camus… you also didn't tell them that Guilty, the one which we banned from our order, also got one of the Kido's sons? And it was Shun's older brother to boot?" He asked incredulously.

The ice saint sighed, "Aiolia and Milo are burned in rage enough as it is." He reasoned calmly, "We are so not in a good condition if those two hot-headed morons decided to comb through their subordinates on their own." He stated loftily.

Shaka groaned, "How that Kido could find out about the Phoenix cloth? And he dared to send his son on his own under our nose!"

"Well…" Camus trailed off, "That cloth was never owned by anyone, and Guilty is banned from our order for good reason. He killed every single disciple that assigned to him, yapping about burning cosmos with hatred and so on…" He shook his head, "That kid is pretty much doomed."

He nodded in agreement, "Guilty is older than most saints… I wonder why we didn't execute him instead of exiled him in that island?" He wondered out loud.

"Who knows… but then again he is pretty much what DeathMask would end up become if Tenma didn't talk him into…" Camus trailed off.

Shaka raised his hand, "Stop… that one stunt Tenma pulled off still hurts my head."

"Uh huh… " He nodded in agreement, "That crazy man didn't know we had banned him forever." Camus began as he flipped through file about Guilty's record, "I think somehow that man believes we will give his cloth and saint status back if he manage to prove his theory about hatred and cosmos is right with training a saint for phoenix cloth…" He can't resist but shaking his head, sweat dropping at the hilarity of an insane man like Guilty.

Shaka nodded in agreement, "I almost pity him… to think he even didn't know someone has took possession of his cloth." He sighed, "But then again… he is too shocked when his cloth abandoned him years ago so he thought it was us who took it away from him. I still think we should just execute him in the near future…"

"As wise as it sounds do you think the Pope will…"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Camus and Shaka turned their face at the door, before Camus called, "Who is it?"

A deep voice answered, "Lord Shaka's adept, it's Agni milord…"

Shaka groaned, "What is it now Agni?"

"Message from young master Tenma…" He answered cheerfully.

Both of them raised an eyebrow, "Tenma? Very well Agni… enter!"

Agni opened the door carefully then entered the room with a small notes on his hands, "Here Lord Shaka… young master gave it to me when I passed by." He explained.

"…" Shaka sighed when he read the message, "Tenma will go to Andromeda Island for few days, at least three days or longer he said… depends…"

Camus chuckled softly, "He is on the move already." Then both of them suddenly stood up abruptly startling the poor Indian adept, "Move?" Camus repeated, "How he plan to get to Andromeda Island?"

Agni was the one who answered, "Teleportation milord…"

"WHAT?"

"But that's what he told me…" He offered helplessly, "I don't…"

"Why did no one stop him?" Shaka asked then looked up trying to locate the closest gold saint around Tenma's cosmos, "Aphrodite is around… oops… too late, and Aphrodite he… poor him."

Camus groaned, "Let's hope Tenma didn't end up in Komodo's nest in Indonesia again… or a Lion's den in South Africa..."

* * *

**Andromeda Island (3PM)**

Daidalos was simply dumbfounded when Pegasus Tenma and Pisces Aphrodite teleported to his training ground drenched in seawater. Tenma as usual had that cheerful grin on his face as if he didn't really care for being wet, Pisces Aphrodite was undoubtedly not happy with his state, but he was still as beautiful as was rumored. Daidalos simply couldn't bring himself to greet them properly due to the fact they were busy drying themselves. Tenma was spinning like a mini twister, sending water drops flying around him. Aphrodite didn't really bother to dry his body but squeezed the waters out of his locks.

"Uhm…" Daidalos stammered.

Aphrodite scoffed, "If you are asking why we were drenched in seawater Cepheus saint, you can blame it on Tenma." He muttered as calm as he could then he took off his mantle.

Tenma scowled, "Hey! It's not me who is at fault here! You know what Dite? If only you'd have a little faith in me, we would not have teleported three hundred meters away from Andromeda Island!" He yelled indignantly.

The Pisces saint rolled his eyes, "Tenma… It's simply logical for me to have zero confidence in your psychic skills especially teleportation." He stated loftily, "When you never get nearer than one hundred meters from your destination…"

"But this time I was sure I could get here if only you didn't grab me in the last second!" Tenma yelled, blushing deep red when reminded of how bad he was in psychic skill.

He tucked his turquoise lock behind his ear, "Uh huh… you will get here after you swam from the sea for sure."

"Oh yeah?"

"Hm hm…"

"Err… excuse me milord? Pegasus? Forgive me for interrupting but… can you tell me why you came to Andromeda Island?" Daidalos asked nervously.

Both of them stared at him quizzically before Tenma Oh-ed, and then grinned sheepishly. "Sorry I forgot to send official letter for me to visit Daidalos… there are lots of things going on lately so it slipped off of my mind."

Daidalos gaped then closed his mouth, he almost forgot Tenma even though a bronze and just seven years old, he was still a gold saint candidate. So if he went to visit training ground under official order he had to send a letter of notification, "Oh… I don't mind Tenma, but Lord Aphrodite…"

"I tried to stop Tenma from teleporting himself here because I know he won't get here with his abysmal psychic skill." He stated grumpily, "Tenma… do you know that you are the worse saint in history in term of psychic skill?"

Tenma groaned, "Hey! It's not like I can't fight without it!"

Psychic was ability that naturally would be developed by those with ability up from silver, and off course all gold saints were physics. However most saints didn't bother to use it in the middle of battle, due to the high level of concentration it required. Therefore only few saints like Shaka and Mu used their psychic ability in battle, using skill you need lot of concentration in the mid of battle where one second more was simply a suicide. Even so they still used it in daily basis, and also because the fact that training one's psychic skill was part of cosmos mastery. But off course like all skill, it required talent and hard work.

Aphrodite nodded mockingly, "Yes but… Tenma, you're simply epic that you need a few minutes to concentrate before you can move something." Aphrodite began to list, "Not to mention your control is almost zero so any object you use tends to disappear to who knows where, telepathic skill is a bit better but once you are farther than three hundred meters we can barely hear you, you also tend to yell when your message…"

The Pegasus saint blushed deep red, "Enough okay! I get it already, you are so mean Dite!" He pouted cutely.

Aphrodite sighed as he petted Tenma's messy hair, "Yes… yes… I am a big meanie." He admitted amusedly, "Now if you would tell Daidalos about the purpose of your visit."

Daidalos was a bit taken back at sudden turn of mood Tenma had after being teased that badly. "You see… actually there is something I need to ask from Shun, it's a little official so I have to tell him directly."

"Official?" He repeated incredulously, Tenma's carefree tone aside Daidalos can see the boy was being serious. "What it might be if I may know?"

Aphrodite shook his head, "I am sorry Daidalos, but you may not…" At worried look Daidalos had the Pisces saint sighed, "Don't worry… this disciple of your is not in trouble at all…"

"But…" Daidalos began. "I…"

"Let me tell Shun first." Tenma cut him in, "After that it would be Shun's decision to let you know or not."

The Pisces saint groaned, "Tenma…"

He shrugged, "I know what I am doing, don't be such a worrywart…"

"Oh well…" Aphrodite sighed again, "Anyway, where is this disciple of yours?"

* * *

As if answering the call all three disciples of Daidalos approached their seniors, two pairs of eyes, which belonged to Leda and Spica darted at Tenma who was in their line of vision, then went to Aphrodite. June also did the same. At once the three disciples were staring at Aphrodite, at first in awe then confusion, disbelief with a tint of depression.

"What is it?" Aphrodite asked curiously, unnerved at the unusual looks he got from them.

Before any of disciple could open their mouth Daidalos cut them in, "This is Lord Aphrodite, Gold saint of Pisces… where are your manners my dear students? Greet _him_ and Pegasus properly…" Daidalos said in joking tone.

The disciples of Daidalos gaped, and before they knew it Leda and Spica had squeaked. "But he wear lipstick!" Leda yelped then continued by Spica, "And mascara!"

"*#&%%*!" It was Daidalos all right, he had tried to save his disciples from asking Aphrodite's gender but it seemed they were too dumb to live.

But much to everyone's shock Aphrodite just sighed, "Oh boy… why does everyone think I am wearing make-up or something like that?" He grumbled out loud, "It's my lips' natural color…" He stated tiredly. "And I didn't put any mascara on my eyelashes either."

…

…

At disbelief look in Andromeda Islanders' face Aphrodite turned to Tenma, "Why it's so hard to believe I never use make-up? I am a man, it's simply ridiculous of me to wear it like a woman." He paused then added, "Not to mention wearing something that's not meant for men's skin is not healthy. At least I think so… if it's done everyday…"

Tenma shrugged nonchalantly, "Nah… you know rumors about you wearing mascara and lipstick is already old. And since you never really care to deny it, everyone thought it was true~" He reminded the Pisces with a muffled laugh.

"Why I never cared to threaten them a little like I did DeathMask?" He wondered out loud, "Or at least trying to convince them…"

The Pegasus rolled his eyes, "You didn't since Milo tried to scrub off your face to prove you didn't wear make up, remember?" He reminded him with a smirk.

"Oh, that's not really a pleasant memory… really…" He admitted bitterly, "And even though I am not as busy as Shaka or Camus… my job as instructor and chief physician of sanctuary takes most of my time, I also need to take care of my roses! There is a good reason for why both of me and Camus took turns as physician, how the hell could I have time to apply make up on my face every morning and clean it up every night?" He asked incredulously.

"Well light speed maybe?" Tenma answered jokingly, "Some people even thought you draw that spot under your left eye by yourself." Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at that, "Misty trying to imitate you is not helping either because he did wear make-up to do so."

"But Misty knows my face is completely natural…" Aphrodite said tiredly.

"That didn't stop him from wearing make up though~" Tenma deadpanned.

At this point the Andromeda islanders was blinking in confusion, wondering if what they were talking about was true. The Pisces saint groaned, "Why me? And why does no one accuse Shaka for wearing mascara?" He asked to no one.

"Probably because they don't really like Shaka's hell that much… even though there is a heaven too. His multiple choices of hells is simply not a picnic~" Tenma answered dryly, "And your name didn't help you even a bit Dite..." He pointed out helpfully.

"But I even didn't choose it upon myself!" He exclaimed in a frustrated voice.

Daidalos could help but blurting the question he was sure everyone would, "You didn't?" But then he quickly closed his mouth in panic, horrified of what he had said to a gold saint. It was public's assumption that Aphrodite named himself a goddess' name for obvious reason.

Aphrodite rolled his eyes, "Daidalos… you know saints candidates are mostly orphan from all over the world, and some orphans have unknown origin and that including me…" He paused, "And…"

"Forgive me milord…" Daidalos cut him in nervously, "I didn't think…"

"To be honest I would be grateful if you spread this true story around." Aphrodite admitted nonchalantly, "And I don't see what so embarrassing for sharing this with anyone~ all Gold saints including our Pope know anyway… and Misty too!"

The Andromeda Islanders could only nod dumbly, "Oh…"

"To cut it short… I was a homeless orphan back then in Sweden, exactly in Stockholm. Luckily because of my face everyone liked me and didn't mind giving me nice meals everyday." He muttered nonchalantly.

Tenma nodded sagely, "But sadly no one noticed Aphrodite is a he, and they started to call him… Aphrodite." He said with faked sob mixed on his voice.

Aphrodite nodded sagely, "I was so young that time, and beside they still call me that after they knew I was a boy. So because I was called by that name for most of the time… I think at one point I completely forgot my real name. If I ever had any…" He muttered out loud with a sigh, which the islanders can't help but thought was really outrageous of Aphrodite to be so carefree about it. " And when I was brought to Sanctuary, Pope Shion asked my name, I… off course answered… my name is Aphrodite."

…

Tema huffed, "That's quite short Dite, but then again Shaka's even shorter even though he is a very complicated person." Tenma wondered out loud, "I still don't get it! How he summarized his five years of life in three sentences!"

Daidalos was speechless, "Oh…"

Leda and Spica gaped then commented, "That's quite a messed up past." Which earned them a hit on the head from June.

"At first everyone thought I was joking but then again a four years old lying about his name was simply illogical." Aphrodite continued with amused smile painted on his lips, for the Pisces saint his past was always amusing. "I don't really care about my name though, but I wish those Swedish who used to take care of me knew I was a boy sooner and then maybe they would have named me Adonis instead."

Tenma rolled his eyes, "Dite… you know your name really trashed your image in public eyes, didn't you?" He asked incredulously, "You're kind of like the vainest creature that ever walking on earth in public eyes~" He paused "Well… you are vainer than all gold saints combined together, but not to psycho level…" Granted none of gold saints other than Aphrodite were vain, most of them are fine as long as they looked presentable.

"Nah, like I care… " Aphrodite shrugged, and Tenma mumbled '_When did you ever care?' _under his breath. Aphrodite even didn't twitch a finger when some peoples rumored he was a gay, if anything he thought it was so amusing.

Aphrodite was really entertained when he received the news Misty wrecked havoc to prove Lord Aphrodite was nothing like what they said. Tenma really pitied Misty for respecting Aphrodite a bit too much for his own good. Added DeathMask was also wrecking one when he was rumored as Aphrodite's partner, those three days when the rumor was hot were really chaotic for sanctuary. And because it was DeathMask who made a big chaos like it or not, Aphrodite had to stop the fun show as he put it. If not as usual everyone would blame him for not keeping an eye on DeathMask. "Anyway that's how all the rumors of me circulated around, when in fact none of it are true~ or not really true I guess…"

"Err… I don't know what to say…" Daidalos admitted nervously.

Tenma rolled his eyes, "Dite wouldn't care even if you did have a comment…"

Aphrodite laughed softly, and then changed the subject. "Anyway where is this Shun, Tenma's new friend? I heard he is Japanese and has green hair. None of these boys looks like what I heard."

Daidalos fidgeted nervously, "It's his turn today to fill water from our well, and it's quite far away…" He explained nervously.

The Pisces saint rolled his eyes, and then examined his cloak, which already dried due to hellish weather of Andromeda Island. "That's good to hear, this Aphrodite was almost afraid you would listen to my dear friend DeathMask about keeping him away from me…" He muttered in dramatic tone of an actor.

He gulped; his feet almost took one step back. "It's just…"

"Don't worry Daidalos, who can say no to DeathMask if he was as hysteric as that time?" Tenma asked with a smirk.

Aphrodite sighed, "Anyway… I assure you that, your precious Shun won't become a second Misty or something, and I didn't even do anything that caused Misty to wear make up in my own volition." He stated loftily. "I am sure you know DeathMask is simply too crazy for you to take an advice from." He paused, "So… please think twice before you listen to that moron, for your own good."

"Yes Lord Aphrodite…" Daidalos answered helplessly, he can't simply say no. Could he?

* * *

Shun came just in time at the end of discussion with many waterskins on his arms, "Tenma!" Shun squealed excitedly as running toward them, "You really come to see me!"

Tenma grinned, "Hi Shun! It's been a while…"

Shun was about to reply before he tripped right in front of them and all waterskins were flying. Luckily June managed to save Shun from falling, and Tenma and Aphrodite caught all of the waterskins. The Pisces saint scoffed, "Even if you're are still a trainee, a future saint should watch his surrounding without missing any trifle." He scolded Shun haughtily, "Not even a little pebble on the ground." He added.

"I am sorry…" Shun muttered as bowed deeply, "I will pay more attention in the future."

"The latter is good but the first is a no no…" Aphrodite corrected sternly, "Don't apologize to me but yourself, it would be you who gets killed in battle for your recklessness not me." He stated.

Shun looked up to Aphrodite, startled such a fair man could be so stern and intimidating. But before Shun can open his mouth to reply Tenma groaned at Aphrodite. "Here you go again with your _'I am the mighty instructor' _attitude. Seriously Dite… Don't start talking about dying in battle, please?" He asked tiredly.

Aphrodite rolled his eyes, "Softy…" He scoffed.

"Anyway… Aphrodite, how about if you go back now? Camus already went to Siberia so you are the only exceptional physician we have in sanctuary now." Tenma said with a grin. "You know those subordinates of yours, when none of you and Camus present in sanctuary… they would be in such a panic~"

"That's a good reason to shoo me Tenma." Aphrodite commented haughtily. "Anyway when you go back? I will pick you up since I really am worried you will end up in Indonesia again or precisely Komodo's nest… I still have no idea how you escape without your leg got chewed." He wondered out loud.

Shun blinked as turned to Tenma, "What is Komodo?"

Tenma blushed deep red, "An ugly creature. I am sure you wont see it, ever!" Then turned to the Pisces saint, "I will be here for three days." He stated.

Aphrodite's eyes widened in disbelief, "Tenma! I never heard this before! Did you tell the others?"

"I did leave a note for Shaka about it…" He informed Aphrodite helpfully.

"That's simply irresponsible!" He scoffed, "DeathMask would throw a fit and I have to go back now before he started rampaging Rodorio, looking for our dear pony!"

Tenma pouted, "Don't call me that! And Masky didn't rampage Rodorio or anything, beside townspeople seems really happy to have him around, glaring and cursing as he wandered around like a helpless crab~"

"Well, he really is entertaining when he is looking for you in Rodorio on a daily basis…"

"But you will still get scolded if Masky did make trouble, Dite!" He grinned mischievously.

Aphrodite narrowed his eyes at the Pegasus saint, "Tenma… you are not cute…"

"Thank you~"

* * *

"I am really sorry for deciding to stay without notification~" Tenma muttered politely to Daidalos, "But I decided it in last minute, so it's okay if I am sleeping outside…"

Daidalos was about to answer but Shun had yelped, "You can't sleep outside Tenma! It's so cold at night! And the ground is not comfortable to sleep on…" Shun warned him kindly, "You can sleep with me in my bed! My blanket is big enough for us!"

Tenma sighed, "Shun… thank you for the offer but you don't have to worry about cold, I can warm my body with cosmos at night." He explained with a smile, "Beside it's not the first time I slept on the ground, in fact I think since I began my saint training I mostly slept on the ground after harsh training!" Tenma informed them then laughing as if there was something funny. And Daidalos can't help but wonder if gold saint training was really that bad and inhuman even by saint standard. "I think I use my bed in main temple or in another's temple's spare room around twice a week! I almost forgot how fluffy my bed is but then again it's not like it really matter right?"

Shun was almost in tears, "No! Tenma will sleep in my bed tonight! Sister Clare always told me that a boy has to get enough sleep and comfort in their sleep! Because we are still growing boy!" He snapped at Tenma with stern gaze locked to Tenma's brown orbs.

Tenma blinked, he didn't expect Shun of all people could snap. And Shun was quite scary, "Err but I am sure… I didn't have any problem growing~"

"You still have to sleep on a bed tonight! And the next three days you are with us!" Shun stated, didn't want to take a no from Tenma.

Daidalos was really proud of Shun, and Tenma seemed really at lost at how to refuse the kind offer. "Tenma, don't worry… both of you are still small so Shun's bed is spacious enough for both of you."

"If you say so…" He agreed reluctantly, "By the way can I go get apeak of your volcano?" He asked innocently.

"… What for?" Daidalos asked unsurely.

Tenma grinned, "Training! And by the way can Shun go with me there?"

"But…"

"Don't worry Shun won't get hurt or anything…" He assured Daidalos.

"But…"

"By the way is there any some sort of trap or anything unnatural on that volcano?" He asked curiously.

"No it's normal like all volcano out there but…"

"Okay let's go Shun!" And with that Shun once again found himself on Tenma's back and they were on for another trip, Shun closed his eyes because he knew he would be very dizzy after this. "See you!"

Daidalos and other Islanders stared at the trail of dust Tenma's left, "Wait! What kind of training did you want to do there and why is Shun coming along?"

Review Please!

* * *

**So guys... you either start to hate me or love me more~ Seika have main role in the future as saori's moral pet~And more than that!**

**BTW next I have to deal with SHun's hesitation to fight and etc but sorry in advance because I will be cruel to him ;_; for his own good! Hic hic!  
**

**BTW when I was writing about Dite's past and face etc~ I am talking to you my readers XDDD actually in manga I didn't see APhro got lipstick! Why the anime need to give him one and Misty tooo DDDX anyway... I am sure at one point they regret that when they saw ALbafica =_=**

**And because I feel nothing I need to explain in my notes feel free to tell me if something confuse you. Anyway... I am trying to improve my grammar, I know my lack and I don't need you to tell me that too many times, I am not blind pals! And I do recheck and correct it anytime I have the chance to do so~ not like I am mad if you tell me but I would love if you write about something else in my story that I didn't know~ no authors is happy with review that only consist of this and update please~ we want reviews because we want to know your opinion which not only consist of praise but also critiques about plot and character, suggestion~... if this is not in your review... it's just a empty review  
**

**ps: At this point looking back at this story, I almost scared to run out of plot bunnies XP  
**


	6. Epilogue to Conflicting Fate

**I am sorry for the long delay however that's not really our fault =_= This story is done few days ago, fixed by Tharrow BUT this website keep go error when I tried to upload the new chapter. This story end up longer than usual is NOT on purpose in fact I have cut the first scene that's not needed. And the flashback goes to side story section... though I really recommend you read it! **

* * *

**Chapter 6: Epilogue to Conflicting Fate**

**Death Queen Island**

A hellish island like Andromeda Island was not something unusual for the Saint of Athena, in fact there was five training grounds that were located near the volcano. Death Queen Island in fact was a volcano, located in the middle of Pacific Ocean. This island until the 14th century actually was one of the main training grounds, in which gold candidates trained.

The real name of Death Queen Island, which is commonly known as Krakatau, existed on the map but not as Death Queen Island as Saints called it. Krakatau's etymology was _Karkataka, which_ in sankrit meant Crab, which obviously implied this island originally was Cancer saint's training ground before it was moved to Sicily. It was said the lava pit of Krakatau was connected to Yomotsu Hirasaka, where Cancer saint's sekishiki meikaiha would exile their enemy forever. This also explained why the Phoenix cloth was kept here, more than the symbolic meaning of a cloth that was worthy for those who managed to climb their way up from hell.

But then this island became where sanctuary sent their worst criminals due to its hellish environment, it had not exactly been sanctuary's plan for those criminals to survive long enough and even dare to create their own cloth, and name themselves black saints and attempt to copy the 88 cloth of Athena's saints. But due to the little resource they had, only a few of the bronzes and silvers could be managed to copy, not to mention Sanctuary kept an eye on them closely. Sanctuary let these black saints exist in Death Queen Island but once they stepped out, it would be their doom. Jango, who was their leader, didn't dare to do as he pleases in Death Queen Island either due to half of the island belonging to Guilty, and even he had no guts to face Guilty, the famed homicidal saint.

Guilty himself paid little attention to black saints, as long as they didn't interrupt him and his efforts of producing the phoenix saint, which will prove he was right about the best fuel of cosmos was hatred, even if he had to die to do so he would prove it to the world and they would regretted his exile and taking his sainthood away.

"Stand up Ikki! Stand with those pathetic legs of yours!" He roared murderously to his disciple.

Ikki stood up shakily; he was more than willing to stand, as it was unpleasant to have your body pasted on the scorching ground of Death Queen Island. "Yes… Master Guilty…" Ikki answered with a strangled voice, his throat was dry and Guilty had not let him took a sip of water since sunrise. "Master…" He rasped, "Can I please… have water? Just a little?" He pleaded helplessly, "At this rate… I can't go on…"

Guilty growled deep on his throat then covered his hand with cosmos and grabbed a handful of scorching stones. "How about you eat these instead!"

Ikki yelped as he dodged the stones clumsily due to lack of energy, "But I…"

The cruel saint looked at Ikki's eyes, frustrated when he saw no hatred on those dark blue orbs. "Those eyes… are no good Ikki! Show some hatred for your master!" He roared as he launched his fist toward Ikki, sending the Japanese trainee flying toward the lave pit.

The dark haired child grabbed anything he could in reflex, stopping him from falling to the boiling lava. Ikki almost had no fear left because almost every day Guilty tried to kill him like this whenever he irked the older man for who knows what. And deep down Ikki was glad Shun was not the one who spend his days in this hell, better him than his beloved little brother.

"Ikki! Stop wasting your time down there and climb up before I decided you're better off spending the rest of the day crushing scorching rock with your bare hands!" He roared impatiently.

Ikki cringed at the painful order, which was the harshest training he ever had, especially because he had not mastered how to cover his fist with his cosmos perfectly. "Yes Master! I am coming!" And with that the future phoenix saint continued his training in the most hellish training ground.

* * *

**Andromeda Island**

Little Ikki did know that his brother was somewhere that was just as hellish as Death Queen Island, at least where Shun stood by now. Which, just like Death Queen Island was a rocky path towards a lava pit of volcano. Shun was sure he would pass out by just standing around here if it was not for Tenma, the Pegasus saint emitted his bluish white cosmos around them, covering their skin like a cloak. Shun never felt so comfortable and safe when Ikki was not around but now he did, he was embarrassed to admit it but he liked the feel of Tenma's cosmos very much. Tenma's cosmos was like morning sun, it was blazing with comforting warmth, strong but also gentle at the same time.

Tenma suddenly turned around, facing his Japanese friend. "So Shun… let's begin the training shall we?" He said as grinned cheerfully.

"Training?" Shun repeated curiously, "You will train me Tenma?"

He nodded, "Yep, don't worry… even though I forgot asking permission to Daidalos before, I asked him when we were in the middle of our trip to this place." Tenma assured Shun with a grin, "He said he won't mind as long as I keep your limit in mind."

Shun blushed, "I am sorry… I still can't keep up with other trainees…"

"Why are you saying sorry to me?" He wondered out loud, Tenma narrowed his eyes, "Shun… the reason why you are left behind is because you are always hesitating in spar. Granted that you are still new but…" Tenma stated sternly, sighing at widened eyes of Shun. "I know you did quite well in other training, in fact you are very talented in other area especially cosmos training." He explained calmly. "Why is that? Do you know?"

"Uhm…" Shun fidgeted nervously, "I am not sure but… cosmos I… just feel it just comes naturally to me."

Tenma smiled at that, "Nah… that's a good point, you do actually have natural talent as a saint."

"Natural?" Shun blinked innocently.

"Let's say for a start you have a very good potential as a future saint Shun." Tenma stated which earned him a smile from Shun; as for the Japanese boy that was the best news he had for months, since he began his saint training in fact Shun was almost afraid he had no talent at all.

"All humans have different potentials in tapping their cosmos which is actually determined by this." Tenma said as tapping his temple. "Your mind… you see Shun, at your age to be able to develop a good control of cosmos is great!" Then he sighed which almost worried the greed haired boy, "But then again someone like you… I don't think your mind is clouded by mundane matters."

"Mundane?" Shun repeated curiously.

Tenma laughed, "Nah… never mind the theory, it's doesn't really matter!"

Shun sweat-dropped, "But Tenma… is it just me or do you keep cutting the theory short?" He asked, "Is it really alright?"

Tenma deadpanned, "I told you… that understanding the theory with your brain will do you no good. It's something that you have to learn with your body!" Tenma explained loftily.

Actually it had been done before, trying to explain in detail about the theory of cosmos to trainees. But the result was horrible because despite their understanding in their minds, their body never felt the cosmos and so the body couldn't keep up. If anything the lesson weighed on their mind and did not help mastery of cosmos in the slightest. Which was why trainees were taught only the most basic understanding of cosmos, so they could develop it without burdening their mind. "It's like… you understand how to do a difficult trick in soccer but if only your brain knows it but not your body, there is no way you can do that trick right?"

Shun nodded, "Uhm… so Tenma, what are we doing here?"

He grinned, "Well Shun you see this light I emitted?"

"This is your cosmos right?" Shun asked, at Tenma's nod he smiled. "It's so pretty… whitish blue… like the morning sky."

Tenma chuckled softly at that, "Pretty? You think so?" At Shun's nod Tenma laughed, "Do you know that the color of our cosmos represent the color of our constellation?" Tenma asked, "Since you are already assigned in training for a specific cloth I am sure Daidalos has let you go to where Andromeda cloth is, presenting you before its Pandora box?"

Shun nodded, "The cloth is so far away though… the box is on a very high stone pillar, then there is a big rock in front of it." He explained eagerly, Shun didn't notice the slight cringe at Tenma's face when he was talking about the rock. "Master emitted his cosmos then the pandora box glowed pink... then he introduced me to it!"

"Well... Shun, do you know why Andromeda is placed there?" Tenma asked unsurely.

Shun nodded, "It related to the myth of Princess Andromeda right?"

"And why there is a rock in front of that pillar?" He asked again.

"..." Shun became quiet, "I would be tied there, right?"

Tenma sighed, "Glad to know Daidalos knows it would be better if you know about what you should do to get Andromeda cloth." He stated loftily, "And even though I hate to say this but the Andromeda Cloth is one of the hardest cloths to earn among 88 cloths, there is a good reason for why there has been no Andromeda saint in the last six centuries..."

Shun fidgeted nervously, "Six centuries?" He repeated in disbelief.

Tenma nodded, "Yeah... but!" He smiled at Shun "If it's you I think you would make it!"

Shun blinked, wondering why Tenma had so much faith in him.

"Why do you sound so sure Tenma?" He asked, "I am weak... no one in the Kido Orphanage except my friends expects me to gain my cloth."

The Pegasus saint huffed, "I always believe in my gut feeling!" Which made Shun fall anime-style at his statement, "And off course... I believe in my friends more than my gut!" He laughed.

Shun laughed at that, holding his stomach. "Tenma... ha ha ha... you are so funny!"

"HEY! I am trying to cheer you up here!" He shouted indignantly with a big grin.

* * *

**Siberia**

Hyoga was excited to welcome Camus to Siberia but much to his chagrin they were short one person when Camus arrived, Isaac once again got lost in the white landscape of Siberia.

Both he and Crystal blushed deep red when Camus sighed, "So... Isaac is missing again?" At weak nod he received, the ice saint sighed, "Crystal... while I suppose I should blame your incompetence of taking care of your disciple, I don't think I can scold you for this." He stated coolly, "I guess Isaac really has a big issue regarding his sense of direction, you already trained him for two years in SIberia but he still..."

Hyoga bowed deeply, "I am really sorry Master Camus, I only took my eyes off of him for a few seconds..." He muttered regretfully, "Please let me look for him for one hour, I am sure I would find him in the nearest bear's cave."

Crystal and Camus looked at Hyoga in disbelief, "How did Isaac end up there?" He asked.

The future ice saint sighed, "I found out last month that... a mother bear adopted Isaac, maybe Isaac is always wandering around her territory and ended up getting adopted for some reason." He explained tiredly, "I always found him napping beside that bear on her cave."

Camus looked at Crystal, "You didn't know?"

"No, but before I found him playing with penguins before. He was swimming and eating fish with them..." Crystal explained.

Hyoga nodded in agreement, "Ah... I also have found him there."

Camus rubbed his temple, sighing in a long-suffering way. "Okay... does this mean next time we might found him riding on a killer whale?"

"He introduced me to two whales last week Master Camus." Hyoga informed him helpfully, "He named them... Willy and Jacob~"

"..."

"..." Camus looked at Crystal, "So... you have to deal with this every day?"

Crystal smiled weakly at his master, "Welcome back to our world master."

Sanctuary, Scorpio Temple

Milo yawned, he was bored to death because Camus had returned to Siberia and he was stuck in his office with paperwork. Sometimes he wondered if Camus preferred Polar Bears and penguins instead of his company, well… he wasn't so concerned about that anymore at least since Camus had at last admitted that he was the best friend Camus ever had out loud three years ago.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Since a few weeks ago, Camus had spent quite a lot of time with Shaka, even though most of it was for work. He knew Camus loved to spend his time in Shaka's private library, talking about recondite topics Scorpio Milo would never dream to understand. In fact deep down Milo was always wondering why Camus was not close with Mu and Shaka, whose interests were at least similar to his, instead Camus would always be with him who was like heaven and earth compared to him. So when Camus started to be a close friend of Shaka, Milo was not really surprised nor did he feel left out. _

_But after few weeks Milo couldn't help but be bothered by their friendship, it was not jealousy because he knew Camus always spared some time for him no matter how busy Camus was. His problem was the secrecy Camus shared with Shaka, once again he was not jealous if Camus shared a secret with the blond Indian. But Camus always looked cold, even colder than usual after he had a conversation with Shaka. _

"_Okay Camus…" Milo sighed tiredly, "I don't like to intrude your privacy but I would like to know, what are you are hiding from me? From all of us… which I am sure only you and Shaka know."_

"_Milo… I hide nothing, you are just being silly…" Camus stated tonelessly._

"_Oh yeah? And may I ask why you're left eyebrow is twitching weirdly?" He pointed out with a smirk._

"_My eyebrow did not twitch." He stated coldly. _

"_It did! That's the sign you are lying Camus! Who am I, do you think?" Milo asked incredulously, "I am never able to lie to you and so you to me!"_

_Camus became silent, then muttered softly. "Say… If I did have a secret, which I share with Shaka… what would you do about it?"_

"_You won't tell me right?" Milo asked again._

"_I won't… sorry…" He admitted regretfully. _

_Milo smiled at that, "Okay… I guess I get the picture so…" He trailed off, "Camus, its fine is you keep a secret from me."_

_Camus's eyes widened, "Eh? You are not mad?"_

_Milo laughed at Camus' expression, "Off course not, silly! Knowing you… whatever you keep from me must be for a good reason, why should I mad at you Camus? He asked gently, "You know? I can't deny I am saddened you have to hide something from me, but you of all people… I trust you Camus, I believe you know what's the best for us so I don't mind." _

"_Milo…"_

_The Scorpio saint then smiled sadly, "However Camus, I hope you and Shaka could depend on us more, if there is anything we can shoulder together… you two shouldn't be so hesitant to hand it to us OK?"_

"_You really…" Camus chuckled softly, "Thank you Milo, you have no idea how much that means to me… I am glad to have you as the best friend I ever had." _

_Milo gaped, "Did you just admit I am your bestest friend?" He asked incredulously. _

"_There is no such thing such as bestest… and no, I won't repeat it again." He stated with flushed cheeks. _

_Oh…" Milo whined, "Come on penguin! Say it again please!" _

_

* * *

_

Milo grinned dreamily at the memory, that's the best moment he ever had with Camus. Then he yawned again, this afternoon was still too boring for Scorpio Milo. And how he hoped…

BANG

"MILO!" Aiolia roared angrily.

"Hello Aiolia…" Milo greeted him with a big grin, "For what do I owe this pleasure to see you in my office?"

Aiolia fumed, "Cut the crap Milo! What the hell is with this file and book you gave me this afternoon?" He roared as threw it roughly to the floor, "It's… it's…" He stammered with red face.

"Oh my… so it's too much for our big lion?" Milo mocked evilly, "Oh my mistake… it's our little kitty!"

The Leo saint was counting from one to ten, telling himself that killing Milo would do him no good. "Why did you ask Marin of all people to send it to me? Do you have any idea how ashamed I was?"

Milo rolled his eyes, "Aiolia… I did this for your own good. If I am not mistaken until we hit our twenties you will still be trying asking Marin for a stroll in the forest."

Aiolia blushed deep red, and then quickly schooled himself. "And… HOW is putting a book titled '1001 Ways to get in your dream girl's pants' in the middle of my file going to help me?" He asked incredulously, "Do you have any idea what kind of face I had when this book dropped from the file and Marin got a full view of it?"

"I am sure she got a clue by now…" Milo nodded sagely, looked satisfied at the result of his work.

"A clue that I am a pervert?" AIolia growled.

"Nah… you guys will move on to that stage sooner this way, I think…"

"I am thirteen years old Milo!" Aiolia blushed deep red, "There would be NO stages or anything if she thinks I am a pervert! And I demand YOU to come with me and explain thoroughly to her that… it's entirely your fault! Your prank!" The Leo saint demanded as stomping angrily toward the Scorpio saint.

Milo grinned, "Well… how about if you try to catch me first?"

"Huh?" Aiolia blinked.

"The last one who gets to Aries temple is rotten egg!" Milo cheered as sprinted pass Aiolia.

Aiolia spun, glaring at trail of dust Milo left. "That's it! You are deader than dead MILO!"

* * *

"So… basically you have to coat your body with cosmos like I did." Tenma explained with a grin, "Then you can walk around this place without worrying about heat!"

Shun looked at Tenma, "Uhm but how to do that?"

"Ah… can you gather your cosmos to your hands?" Tenma asked.

Shun nodded as he gathered his cosmos above his palms, tiny orb glowed in myriad colors. "Like this?"

Tenma shook his head, "No Shun… pump more cosmos, as much as you could!" He ordered.

"But Master Daidalos always told me to stop here." Shun said with confused face, "He said it would be dangerous if I draw more cosmos from my reserve."

The Pegasus saint laughed at that, "Daidalos teaches four disciples at once, I guess treating each of you differently according to potential is kind of hard! Don't underestimate yourself Shun… it would be fine if you draw more than that miniscule amount!" He deadpanned, "If you are like any other trainee who just started maybe it would be dangerous."

Shun's eyes widened, "Maybe? Dangerous?" He repeated incredulously.

Tenma shrugged, "Nah… I heard this is usually what caused many trainees to not survive their first year." He pointed out nonchalantly, and Shun paled at the news. "For trainees who just started training, their bodies are not used to cosmos, which is why we still need proper physical training." Tenma paused then closed his eyes, trying to recite what Camus taught him when he was three. "Drawing more than what your body is capable of is suicide, your body will be burned to coal… if you are lucky, you would survive but your limbs would be shredded…" Tenma trailed off, one of his eye opened to see how Shun react. "To pieces at least…"

"Limbs… shredded?" Shun gulped nervously, his face was as white as paper at information he received from Tenma. It was understandable to be scared of what might befall upon him; they after all were just children, especially when he imagined his fellow Japanese trainees he knew might have died in such a painful way.

The brown haired boy scratched his head; he didn't mean to scare Shun or anything. But then again it would be better if you know what would happen if you were being careless, since he was young all of gold saints were very blunt about what would happened to a future saint due to the slightest mistake in their training. And Tenma had seen Galan's artificial arm, a result of the trainee's recklessness as he had told Shun just now. And the retainer of Aiolia seemed more than happy to tell the gore of his missing arm, it was a mystery how someone like Aiolia could have a sadistic retainer like Galan.

"Well… "Tenma trailed off, "Our world is harsh Shun." He admitted with a smile, "There is no room for recklessness and cowardice." He stated sternly which made Shun flinched at the sudden intimidating aura Tenma had, "We… saints of Athena are hope of this world, on our shoulders…" He said as tapped Shun's shoulder gently, "Lies the burden called hope, being a saint is proving you are one of eighty eight strongest human in the world and the one who will protect Athena and this earth."

Shun looked at Tenma with mix of nervousness and admiration. "To protect Athena and earth?"

"Well… with that kind of burden it's understandable in saint training many lives have fallen like withered leaves in autumn." He muttered sadly, "Our failure means this world would fall into darkness… "

"What… darkness?" Shun can't help but asked, his heart was beating loudly against his ribcage.

Tenma shook his head, "You don't have to concern yourself about it Shun. Not for now at least so…" He said, "For now, dedicate yourself in your training OK?" Tenma grinned.

Shun nodded, even though he was still curious and uneasy, they left it at that. "So... I have to draw more?"

He nodded, "Keep it up, I will stop you, once I think it's enough." Tenma assured Shun sternly.

"Okay…" Shun watched orb on his palms grew bigger and it's color turned to light pink. He frowned at the sight. "It's pink…" He pointed out the obvious.

Tenma raised an eyebrow, "Well, that's enough I think…" He muttered absentmindedly, "Shun, why do you look unhappy with your cosmos orb? It's prodigious!" Tenma praised with a big grin painted on his lips, deep down he was a bit jealous Shun could create a stable mass of cosmos in his first try. In his case, Tenma blew his cosmos orb up on his face for months till he could get it right. He was the type of saint with massive cosmos after all so he was not so good in cosmos control; Shun on the other hand was the well-balanced type.

"But it's PINK!" Shun whined sadly.

"Err…" The Pegasus saint trailed off, "Shun… cosmos of Andromeda supposed to be that color." He informed Shun helpfully, which made Shun frowned even more, "Have you seen the cloth inside the Pandora box?" Shun shook his head, "Well… it's pink from head to toe…" Tenma muttered as he recalled illustration from cloth record he read before coming to Andromeda Island.

Shun's horrified face in Tenma's book was simply priceless, "EEH? It's pink?"

Tenma laughed, "You didn't know? Ha ha ha… don't tell me Daidalos didn't say anything to you about it?" He can't blame Daidalos for not telling though, since he was sure the cloth didn't need more reason to be unwanted other than high death rate of the test. He heard that cloth originally was created for an amazon aka female saint so… it was understandable the color was pink and the design… Tenma recalled Lemurian blacksmith modified Andromeda cloth few hundred years after the third holy war due to there being more qualified male trainees than female that time, so they took the alternative to modified the cloth that was designed for female including Andromeda. Tenma thought that was a good idea though he hoped those blacksmiths would choose another cloth instead of Andromeda, which was pink, or maybe those Lemurians had a good sense of humor like Milo.

The future Andromeda saint blushed deep red, "Why it's pink…" He whined sadly as he looked at his pink glowing orb.

"It's not a big deal ne?" Tenma tried to cheer him up, "It's not like the design is that bad, in fact from illustration I saw… Andromeda cloth was one of the nicest looking cloths. And the color fits your hair quite nicely…" Tenma commented with a smile.

"It's pink…" Shun repeated stubbornly, "I am already mistaken as girl too many times than I care to count…" He muttered gloomily, which startled Tenma because it was so out of character of Shun. But then again who can blame poor Shun to be traumatized because of his gender bender confusion especially since the incident in the convention. "Why…" He sniffed. "Why did it have to be pink?" At this rate even if he gained his cloth, he won't be acknowledged as a real man like what Ikki-niisan hoped him to be! Even Leda's future cloth was red even though his hair was pink!

Tenma began panicked when Shun started sobbing, there were no tears yet but he was sure Shun would burst into water works anytime soon. "Shun! Don't worry it's not like pink is a girly color these days! It's also a men's color!"

Shun blinked, "Really?"

Tenma began to babble in panic, "Yeah! You see… there are many saints who wear pink!"

"Who?" Shun was not convinced.

"Err…" Tenma began to search on his mind of long list of saints he knew, he had to admit that of 88 cloths only Andromeda had pink color, mostly cloth's color was white, green and blue. Then suddenly he was reminded of a certain French saint. "Lacerta Misty! He is one of the strongest silver saints out there!" He babbled cheerfully, "He is so strong! He even got Dite tutoring him quite often! And he is proud to wear pink… he said…" Tenma trailed off as recalled what Misty said about his apparel. "Real men wear pink…" Tenma recited unsurely, and as lame as it sounded, no one dared to laugh because Misty was quite ruthless when he was offended. And Misty wore pink just to rub it in on his fellow silver saints that they could be defeated by a girly looking man who wore make-up and pink, thanks to the wise advise, courtesy of Aphrodite when Misty complained to the Pisces saint about being underestimated because of his looks.

"A silver saint like Master Daidalos?" Shun asked excitedly.

Tenma nodded in disbelief, Shun was convinced that easily? Maybe he was even more naïve than Aiolia, who got picked by Milo on a daily basis because he was the easiest gold saint Milo could prank. But never mind that, as at least Shun was not upset anymore about the fact that his future cloth would be pink. "Yeah! SO… what are we waiting for?" Tenma cheered, as they moved on to his next topic of instruction hoping Shun would be distracted from their previous topic. "Now… imagine that orb melts and becomes something liquid and then let it soak your palm."

"Okay!" Shun cheered energetically.

* * *

Kido looked up from his paper to his granddaughters, his precious treasures. Saori had a serious expression as she read over her science book, totally absorbed in looking for the answer. In front of her laid her homework and a high pile of books rested on the side, while another pile was next to that, to browse if she couldn't find the answer in her current book. Mitsumasa shook his head; Saori was always a perfectionist, even more than him. She would not be satisfied to answer her homework with an answer she found from one book, she would spend hours just to get the best answer after browsing at least three books. But then again she was the mortal incarnation of the Goddess Athena, a deity who was famed for her great wisdom and thirst for knowledge.

He looked over to his other granddaughter, Seika the girl who actually was his daughter. He didn't know she was one of his children though until he looked over her document, Kido was more than happy to have one of his prized children and one who had such charisma and wisdom like Seika. Definitely fit to be the future head of Kido foundation, at least in the future Kido didn't have to worry about burdening Athena with his business empire.

Mitsumasa raised an eyebrow when he saw Seika rubbed her left thumb and forefinger as her arm rested on the giant desk they shared, and she kept doing that as if she was toying with something near her left ear. It was a habit of hers he had observed for a while. At first, he thought it was not a habit but Seika always did it unconsciously when she was deep in thought.

He cleared his throat, "Seika… may I know why you always do that?"

Seika looked up to him, "Do what jii-san?"

"Well, I just wonder why you seem to always be rubbing your fingers under your left ear." He admitted with amused smile, "It's not like you are wearing long earrings or something, which would have made your habit understandable." He stated.

Seika looked at her fingers, wondering since when the hand she had been leaning her head on had changed position. "I don't know…" She admitted sheepishly.

Saori giggled softly, "You are such an airhead sometimes Seika-neesan… "

"Saori-hime…" Seika warned with an amused smile, "Not all habits can be explained, you also liked twirling your hair… but do you know why you like doing it?" She asked back jokingly.

"Err…" Soari blushed deep red, "Whatever… oh I know! Seika-neesan do you want to get your ears pierced? We could get matching earrings!" She beamed.

Kido chuckled softly, got to leave it to Saori to change topic when she was cornered. "Saori… no pierced ears for now, you can get your ears pierced once you are a young lady."

"Aww… I am a lady!" She pouted cutely.

Seika shook her head as she flipped through the economy book she was reading, "No I don't want to get my ears pierced… not now at least. " She answered then paused. "And Saori, you are still our little girl."

"Seika is right…" Kido agreed.

Saori pouted again, "Meanie!"

* * *

**Sanctuary, Leo temple**

Aiolia always had a big curiosity second only to Milo, of course the curiosity we were talking about here was not about science or the mystery of life but rather on menial things that invited their interest. Maybe in Aiolia's case it was his feline curiosity, he was staring at Shaka who was oblivious to the fact he was rubbing his fingers together under his left ear. Shaka's eyebrows knitted together as his fingers traced the writing, it was not difficult for Shaka to read without his eyes as under his sensitive sense of touch he could easily picked up the difference of texture in paper, the surface which was coated with ink and one that wasn't.

Shaka was also aware that Aiolia was staring at him, "I thought I have already explained to you clearly at how I can read without seeing." He stated nonchalantly.

"Err not that, I am just wondering why you always did that…" He said as pointed at Shaka's left hand, "That's a weird habit you have there, Shaka."

The Virgo's fingers stopped, and then rested his hand on the desk. "Ah this? I don't know… I just kind of do this a lot whenever I'm deep in thought." He deadpanned.

Aiolia raised an eyebrow, "Are we talking about Virgo Shaka or Pisces Aphrodite here?" He wondered out loud, "Because it's so not like you to do something you are unaware of, especially without knowing why, doing something on a whim also is not you. That's Aphrodite's expertise."

Shaka scoffed, "It's not that important Aiolia, and beside remember that you are grounded now."

"Aww…" He whined, "It's not my fault that Milo…"

"I don't care…" Shaka stated, "Bickering in public is shameful for us and that's all I need to know." The Virgo's voice was cold and monotone, that meant 'if you dare to talk back I will send you to hell'.

Aiolia shivered, "Ugh…" He whimpered, "But I…"

"A-i-o-li-a…" Shaka warned.

"Yes Shaka…" He pouted.

Shaka wrinkled his nose, "No pouting… you are thirteen not three!"

"Ouch."

On the other hand Scorpio Milo had a taste of his own medicine in his temple, which he was grounded in with a mountain of paperwork with a deadline pushed two weeks earlier. Maybe being bored because of no job was better than being stuck with paperwork.

* * *

Shun wiped away his sweat tiredly, crouching down carefully because if he lost his balance it would guarantee him a roll down all the way to the bottom. At first the landscape had a possible angle to walk through normally but as time passed the walk up became harder. Shun was sure that soon he would have to climb up with all fours if he wanted to reach the peak where Tenma was waiting for him.

As the temperature rose and he got closer to the top Shun thickened his cosmos blanket, he was also careful to not lose concentration in his footing. Shun had mastered the technique on his first try, but maintaining it for long time needed practice. Tenma had gone to climb up to the peak first and leaving Shun to practice cosmos coating as he walked his way up, since the temperature would gradually be rising. Shun had to thicken his cosmos to prevent heat from getting to him, a perfect practice for him as Tenma had said.

The future Andromeda saint looked up, as the cosmos that covered his body began to thicken. "Wonder what Tenma is doing up there, now?"

**Peak of Andromeda Volcano **

"AWW" Tenma yelped as waving his hands frantically, jumping around the waterfall of lava. "Hot hot hot!" The Pegasus saint cringed at the sight of the horrible burn mark on his palm, "Che… it's so hard to control liquid substances like lava!" He whined grumpily as he began to heal his burned palm, "And when it spills on your skin… damn it hurts!"

Tenma crouched down; staring at the flowing river of lava, "Okay… one more try…" He muttered nervously as reached his hand to scoop up the lava. Tenma carefully scooped up a handful of lava on his cosmos covered palm, it still felt hot like hot water on his palm but the heat was bearable. "Yosh… first part OK!" He cheered as started to mold the lave to a sphere with his cosmos, his eyes widened when the half-made lava sphere suddenly blobbed violently and he knew from numerous attempts he did that the sphere was about to…

SPURT

Tenma was at least 10 meters away from his previous spot, massaging his heart that was beating loudly against his ribcage. "That was close…" He panted lightly, "Is this really training or a suicidal attempt?" He wondered out loud with a groan.

He had planned this training for months since he had that dream, a blurry memory of a hellish training he had in the peak of a volcano. Tenma always thought of his dreams as some sort of guidance, even his technique was created out of his dream. The gold saints were not concerned about it, though they still kept an eye on Tenma just in case he went overboard. And off course this was one of the overboard trainings he planned, which was kept as a secret from the gold saints, he knew what they would say about him doing such a risky training. Not to mention the dream was really unclear, and got cut here and there, added to with a roaring voice that sent chill down his spine.

"But then again doing this kind of training just because you are dreaming of it really sounds idiotic." He grumbled while staring at the blobbing surface of lava. He could imagine a bubble popped out beside him with Shaka who for the umpteenth time commented about his idiocy. _'Well done for pointing out the obvious, can you for once use that little logic you have left in your brain?'_ And Camus was nodding sagely in agreement, adding his two cents, _'_He will…_ when he can stop doing something reckless at the drop of a hat, if that's even possible." _

Tenma rolled his eyes as the bubble of imagination poofed out, "No no no… sarcastic remarks from them is the last thing I need now." He muttered nonchalantly, and then looked down at the lava river once again. "Maybe this is still too much for me?" He asked to no one sadly, his hands began to tremble as sadness crawled around in his chest. Why couldn't he get everything right? He had trained for years since sun rise and set but he couldn't get anywhere near gold saints level when they were his age. Even at the age of seven, after he was granted the Pegasus cloth he barely could match a silver saints' level.

He knew that he was different compared to other saints, that he was a peculiar saint. The very reason gold saints and the Pope took him under their wing, but whatever it was… Tenma was well aware he disappointed them for not being able to reach seventh sense. He at any rate didn't see himself being talentless like years ago, he was well aware of the good traits he had as a saint. He had a massive cosmos even without mastering seventh sense, he was not really proud of it but at least that was one good thing he had in him. But he still could not…

Tenma snapped out of his thought, annoyed that he was being so depressed when it wouldn't do him any good. "WHAT THE HELL? Being pessimistic is not me!" He yelled as loud as he could. "**ARGH! SNAP OUT OF IT!"** He yelled again as slapped his cheeks.

"Huwee…"

Tenma blinked, wondering who was groaning. He turned back and much to his horror noticed that Shun was just a few meters behind him, and it was obvious Shun got the full blow of his yell as the Japanese boy was not walking straight but zigzag. The Pegasus saint tended to yell with a cosmos enhanced voice, a bad habit that he took after DeathMask.

"Shun!" He called in panic, "Are you alright?" Tenma asked as rushed to Shun whose eyes swirled as he held his ears.

Shun nodded absentmindedly, "Uh huh… I am fine" He muttered as he rubbed his ears, then added. "But my ears are ringing like ngiiiiiiiiing"

He smiled sheepishly at that, "Sorry Shun, my mind was elsewhere so I didn't notice your cosmos at all." He admitted as he blushed deep red, "I should pay attention even though I was deep in thought."

The Japanese boy smiled kindly, "It's okay Tenma… everyone makes mistake, me too… spacing out a lot." He admitted the last part sheepishly, "When I was thinking about my brother or my parents in heaven, I will not notice even Leda's and Spica's yell when June was trying to uhm… cas..ca…" He stammered.

Titling his head to the side with amused smile, Tenma felt his spirit lifted up. For once it felt nice that it was him who got cheered up and not the other way around. "I get it Shun, you don't have to say it…" He assured the Japanese boy with a grin. "Anyway, how is the training? No casualties I hope?"

Shun beamed, "No! I am doing good! Thanks for teaching me!"

"No sweat." Tenma waved his hand, "Anyway… I think it's time to go back before Daidalos becomes too worried."

Shun nodded in agreement, "Okay… by the way it's almost dinner time! June and Master Daidalos will cook stew for tonight! It's our favorite menu! The best from Andromeda Island!" He praised excitedly.

Tenma raised an amused eyebrow, "I can't wait for it then!"

* * *

**Sanctuary, Throne room**

Saga panted heavily while clenching the fabric of his robe to his chest, dark blue eyes rolled up in pain. The Gemini saint bit his bottom lip till it bled, tasting the iron made him feel a little better. The taste of blood somehow calmed down his nerve whenever his dark side tried to take over him. Sometimes he wondered if he was still a human, a monster maybe by his dark side claimed as god. His mind went to a certain Pegasus saint, a boy he had raised with his comrades for years. His source of strength and determination to fight his dark side, he won't give up that easily. He will not let his dark side try to harvest the power of God slayer, he will not let…

He groaned again as his hands rose to hold his neck, trying to wipe away the unpleasant feeling on his throat. When it became more and more unbearable Saga began tighten his hold on his throat. His nails dug to his flesh. "Ugh… curse this darkness…" He choked out.

On the corner of his eyes he caught sight of familiar golden locks behind one of throne room's pillars, "Can you please stop doing that Saga?" Shaka asked coldly as stepped out from the shadow, and much to Saga's shock Aphrodite was there right behind Shaka. "This always happen… whenever we take our eyes off of you."

Aphrodite shook his head, "Holy Father…" He began amusedly; "Camus is in Siberia now, so I am the only chief physician available in sanctuary. I assure you that… hurting yourself is not something I would suggest you to do." He stated the last part sternly.

Saga's hands trembled as he released his hold from his neck, "Shut up!" He snapped, "I can't bear it!"

Shaka titled his head to the side, "It is becoming harder and harder to control this dark side of yours?" At Saga's nod Shaka ran his fingers through his golden locks, "At least you still manage to stay as the dominant personality." He pointed out with a sigh, "Saga… I told you it's all on your mind, keep drowning yourself in guilt is just making you weaker… at this rate even days of meditation won't do you any good."

The Gemini saint growled at that, "Not like I can afford the luxury of spending so much time meditating when I have to keep sanctuary running as a Pope."

"And added some people grew anxious of this habit of yours." Aphrodite pointed out helpfully, "Even Misty who usually not really bothered by most of rumors going in sanctuary (as long as it's not related to me) already askes why you spend days and sometimes months in solitude just for meditating with leaving us in full authority to keep everything running smoothly." Aphrodite explained with a sigh, "No doubt fellow silver saints of his asked him to ask me."

The Virgo saint wrinkled his nose in disdain," Che… how annoying but we should be concerned if even silver saints are anxious over this trivial matter."

"Not trivial in their book, Shaka." Aphrodite pointed out, "For their leader to be absent in such a long period frequently, it would definitely worry them at any rate. They are subordinates Shaka… if there is something wrong up there you would like to watch out because it might fall on your head when you least expect it." Aphrodite said as tapped his temples, and then he approached Saga carefully. "Now Pope… what are you doing to your body this time?" He asked without expecting the answer.

Shaka sighed, "I guess you are right…" Then smiled amusedly, "Well then… shall we make up a reason for that?" He sneered in disdain.

Aphrodite shrugged, "You do that… announce something to calm them down, whatever it is…"

Saga opened his mouth to protest, he hated it when they had to make up an excuse to keep everything from public eyes and ears. "Don't… we already make too much lie…" He stammered weakly, wincing when Aphrodite's cosmos began to heal wound on his neck. And the Pisces saint didn't bother to ease his strong cosmos; Saga winced again as he felt his wound closed up at rapid speed.

"You are not in any position to not agree Saga." Shaka pointed out with annoyed tone, "Don't be bothered by a couple of little lies Saga, it would do you no good…"

"Little lies as you put it but we deceive…"

"Yes… all of our comrades, for their own good." Shaka reminded him painfully.

Saga's tears began to pool up on the corner of his eyes, "I… I am so sorry Shaka… Aphrodite…"

The Pisces saint huffed, "Save your sorry for Shaka and Camus… you know I feel not even the slightest guilt over deceiving anyone." He muttered nonchalantly, "Anyway Saga… your blood pressure, heartbeat, body temperature…" He shook his head as checking Saga's pulse, "Your mind screwed your body worse that I thought, and it might be because you try to resist too hard."

He growled, "I will resist this darkness of mine no matter what the cost is… even if I have to kill myself." Saga declared sternly.

"That's not helping you or us…" Shaka stated coldly, "We need you alive remember?"

"I…" Saga stammered.

Aphrodite glared at Shaka, "Enough of this chit chats, and I think we will save whatever we want to talk about tonight for tomorrow." The Pisces saint muttered in annoyed tone, then snapped at Saga when he was about to open his mouth. "Hh… No… no, my superior or not when I am your physician I am the one in charge here! So go to your bedroom and rest! Don't you dare stay up for praying or whatever that would prevent you from sleeping! My temple is just one stairs below so I can go up to check and make sure you rest properly…"

"But…"

Nobody tried to deny Aphrodite when he was in his doctor/physician mode; he was a very strict physician and would not take his patient's protest kindly. His word as physician was law and the patient was to obey at all costs, and that's that. "Saga… just stop thinking for one night, I don't care if you have to knock yourself out cold or you want me to give you…"

"No, I don't want sleeping powder or whatever you brew in your chemistry lab." Saga shook his head frantically.

"Good." Aphrodite smiled mischievously, "And Shaka… talking about keeping yourself healthy… reminds me that you also…"

Shaka scowled at that, "I assure you that I am healthy enough and I don't need you to…"

The Pisces saint cut him in, "You skip lunch again today, didn't you?"

"So?"

"So?" Aphrodite repeated sarcastically, "I don't care you don't like to stomach any food when you are busy but you have to eat properly!"

"My body is none of your concern!" Shaka stated coldly.

Saga sighed as Aphrodite began to argue with Shaka about his health, nobody could rival Aphrodite in argument when it comes to health and beauty care except Camus even though about the later part Camus didn't really care for. But he admitted that Aphrodite was right about him needing rest so badly. He stood up then left the two to their own devices. He was too tired to listen to an argument anyway, so he quietly departed to his bedroom. And he was sure he would sleep soundly tonight, at least to avoid Aphrodite's wrath.

Aphrodite pouted, "You are so stubborn Virgo! Not even DeathMask put up a fight as much as you do when I proposed to make a daily menu plan for him!"

"Don't compare me with your best friend, why on earth of all people it's DeathMask you compare me to?" Shaka wondered out loud nonchalantly, "And once again it's none of your business…"

He huffed, "Imagine my horror when I know that your weight compared to Aiolia and Milo whose is the same age as you… is heavier by at least fifteen kilos! Even Camus is not as skinny as you!"

"And that's bad HOW?" He asked mockingly, "I have no problem taking you guys any day despite of my weight!"

"Do you have any idea that your adept came crying to me about you bad eating habit?"

Shaka's face turned to absolute fury, "My adept? Agni?"

Aphrodite nodded, "Yeah… he was so worried that he came running to me asking what he should fed you… and seriously even if fasting is part of your religion or whatever… as a physician I…" He paused then stepped back when he saw a shadow of angry Buddha right behind the Virgo saint.

"AGNI! You are dead!" Shaka roared.

Aphrodite sighed, "Oh boy… I think that's the umpteenth time you say you want to kill that poor adept of yours."

"I mean it this time!"

"You always say that Shaka… anyway… I will come over tomorrow with a list of food you have to eat everyday…" He trailed off.

Shaka growled. "Fine! DO what you want but don't expect me to obey every single thing you write!"

The Pisces saint smirked, "Touché… at least try to eat what I write, it will do wonders to your body."

"Aphrodite…" Shaka warned, the last part sounded SO wrong for his ears. And Aphrodite only flashed a grin on his fair face.

* * *

**Andromeda Island**

Shun opened his eyes slowly, his sight was blurry and he couldn't make out a single coherent sound. Strangely he felt cold metal against his hands then his eyes focused on his hands. He had his hands wrapped around something that was made of metal and it felt so familiar yet unnatural. He looked up as his eyes began to see his surrounding clearly, it was foggy and cold. Around him was miles of ground made of clouds that were as red as blood at twilight.

Shun's attention once again locked to his hands, startled when he found what he held was a sword. A beautiful sword that made of black metal, carved with intricate white inlay. The hilt adored with a pair of wings in silver color, no doubt a fine art of a godly weapon smith.

His hands began to tremble, Shun didn't know why but he felt disgust and sadness at the sight of the sword. He wanted to throw that sword away; he didn't want to hold it any longer! But his fingers won't listen to him, it wrapped protectively on its hilt as if it was a sacred artifact.

Tears began to pool on the corner of his eyes, threatening to fall down his cheeks. He hated this weapon, wanting nothing but to run away from it. Shun was startled when he heard the sound of flapping wings, his eyes widened when he saw a Pegasus hovering above him gallantly. He lowered his hands as his eyes traveled to the descending heavenly steed, Shun opened his mouth but he couldn't utter a single sound. Pegasus approached him slowly but stopped few feet away, its deep golden eyes locked to Shun's. The boy suddenly was overcome by great sadness; he wanted to wrap his hands around the steed. It neighed sadly as if pleading the boy to touch it, but he couldn't as his fingers stayed put as if sewn to the hilt of the sword.

Wings stretched wide, Shun was amazed at the beauty of the heavenly steed as he froze in his place. Its wings wrapped protectively around Shun, neighing soothingly as of trying to speak to Shun. His fingers began to tremble violently, and before he knew it his hands swung the sword with power he never knew he possessed. Shun's eyes widened at the sight of blood spurting from Pegasus wing, his mouthed a silent scream as the heavenly steed feel to the ground with one of its wings clipped off.

Shun gritted his teeth as tears began to stream down his cheeks heavily, "Aaaah aah…"

**I can't stand it…**

Shun turned back as he trembled in fear at the cold voice that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, he jerked away violently when he saw a mass of dark fog oozing from his back. "Wha… aah…" Suddenly the whole world turned to infinite white of emptiness, white and black feathers rained the blankness.

**I hate it… **

The boy looked back at Pegasus, his eyes widened when on its place laid a man wrapped in pure white armor. And one of the armor's wings was clipped just like the Pegasus, the armor also stained by blood, like a tragedy painting of a fallen warrior. "Why… did you do this to me…" He choked out sadly.

"I… I…" Shun stammered in fear.

**Don't fly away… I hate it…**

**When you soar the sky **

**With that untainted color of yours **

**thus**

**I clip your wings… **

"… why…"

**So you would never fly away again… **

**And would forever within my reach**

**Pegasus… **

**

* * *

**

Shun was snapped awake with a scream, startling Tenma who slept beside him. "AAAAAAAAAAHHH…"

Tenma shook him back and forth, "Shun, snap out of it!" The Pegasus saint was panic when he saw Shun's eyes were unfocused. When the boy's hands almost reached up to claw his face Tenma grabbed it firmly, "Shun! Wake up!"

Shun looked to Tenma with fear painted on his face, "Ten…ma? Boku wa… nani… doushite?" He stammered in Japanese.

The Pegasus saint blinked at him, "Err Shun… Greek please?

"Kowai yo…" Shun added as trembling violently, "Boku… wa…" He wrapped his arms around Tenma tightly, almost suffocating the brown haired saint.

Tenma sighed as he stroked Shun's green hair gently, "Nightmare?" He asked curtly and at Shun's nod Tenma could only sigh. "It's okay… a dream is something you will forget soon enough, after all… it's just a dream." Tenma knew of all people he was not one to talk because many times in the past he came running in the middle of the night to their temple, crying his eyes out as he hugged his brothers as tight as he could. He often dreamed of blood and war he knew never ever happened, and sometimes he saw Shura, Aldebaran, Shaka dying right in front of his eyes, and then someone who looked like an older Aiolia, that dream sometimes stretched to him feeling the familiar cosmos' of his comrades disappearing one by one. A very twisted feeling he hated the most.

"Kimochi… warui…" Shun muttered in strangled voice.

He sighed, "Don't know what that means Shun." He admitted, "But sounds like you are telling me that you feel horrible or something like that?"

Shun nodded reluctantly, "Hontou ni… kowai yo… warui kimochi…" He ranted in a trembling voice.

Tenma could guess that Shun must be trying to tell him the same thing he told his brothers, his fear and despair. "It's okay… Shun, forget it… it's just a bad dream…" That was what they always said to him, assuring him that a dream was just… a dream.

Next morning

Saga sighed at the information Shaka and Aphrodite had reported to him just now, about Kido and his one hundred sons. And he didn't appreciate Aphrodite's amused look about the news, "Let them be… and of course keep an eye on all of the Japanese trainees." He paused then turned to Shaka, "What harm do you think Kido could do to us Shaka? A rough guess would help."

Shaka shrugged, "I am not sure… but whatever it is we will know it once six years passed." He stated sternly, "If any of them survive…" He added mockingly, and then turned back suddenly. "So Aldebaran… how many Japanese boys have fled or died in your report?"

Aldebaran stepped in to the throne room, shaking his head in disapproval. "What a horrible thing to ask Shaka…"

"Say that after you heard the complete story of Kido." Shaka countered.

Aphrodite smirked, "Well well… welcome back Taurus Aldebaran, how was the world tour?"

Aldebaran chuckled softly, "You make it sounds like a holiday Aphrodite…" Shaka and Aphrodite narrowed their eyes at giant backpack Aldebaran had on his back.

"Well… if looking at that massive backpack full of souvenirs…" Shaka trailed off, "Seriously Aldebaran, why do you always buy so many souvenirs in every single country you visit?"

The Taurus saint grinned sheepishly, "Oh come on… souvenirs is the first thing you need when you step your feet on a new place! New culture! New civilization!" Then he put his backpack down, and then plunged his hand inside. "Look Shaka! I bought a statue of Buddha from Borobudur for you! It made of stone, complete with the stupa!" He said as shoved the palm sized statue to Shaka's face. He lifted the stupa, revealing a Buddha sitting on a pedestal.

Virgo saint groaned, "Aldebaran… how many times have I told you that… I don't need it. You have given me at least hundreds of Buddha statue from various country every single time you return." He said as frowned deeply, "And to be honest… only Agni appreciated it to the point he turned the spare room in my temple to a gallery for it!"

At that very same moment Agni was dusting rows of Buddha statues in Virgo temple, and suddenly sneezed violently. Clueless Agni thought it must have been the dust that made him sneeze.

"I thought you liked it." He countered. "I don't know what else I could get you… so what do you want for souvenir I could get you in my next trip?"

"Nothing…" Shaka replied tonelessly.

Saga sighed then clapped his hands, "Aldebaran, Shaka… save the argument for later please?" Shaka scoffed and Aldebaran blushed deep red, stammering an apology to their superior. "Anyway… as much as I dislike to say it, I would like to know about the Japanese trainees around the world and also the recent situation of the world."

Aldebaran kneeled down, "As you wish… milord."

"Very well…" Saga muttered as leaned into the backrest of his throne.

Aldebaran nodded, "In the last few months… three Japanese trainees have passed away due to their inability to adapt with harsh environment of their training ground, and another two were crippled because of cosmos training… so they are banned from our program once they are released from hospital. Five boys who trained in west Europe training ground have disappeared." The Taurus saint reported with an indifferent voice even though inside he was deeply saddened for it, Shaka in the other hand let a small smirk painted on his lips at the last part. "Masters of Japanese trainees reported that Kido who sponsored these boys send them a letter once in a while, but the letter is nothing. Just to keep them in contact, to know if the boy is still alive…"

Saga narrowed his eyes, "I see…" He paused, "And is there any abnormalities you found Aldebaran?" He asked locked his eyes on Aldebaran's, "You seem worried about something…"

The Taurus saint sighed tiredly, "Actually… there is something that just recently…"

"…"

"…"

"WHAT?"

Shaka and Aphrodite narrowed their eyes. "This is bad…" Shaka muttered.

Aphrodite scoffed, "What's the worse could happen?"

"Famous last words…"

Shun blushed deep red as he sat down on a big rock he shared with his fellow disciple of Daidalos, he was deeply embarrassed about what happened last night. The dream had been really horrible and scary but it was no reason to wake up screaming his lungs out, and wailing at Tenma. He was the one who offered to share his bed with Tenma, yet he was not able to keep Tenma comfortable with him. Tenma was their guest, his guest and yet…

The future Andromeda saint was already forgetting most of his dream from last night, it was as if his mind had obeyed what Tenma said. That he had to forget that horrible dream, what he remembered was only about meeting a Pegasus and suddenly everything became red. He remembered it was a horrible dream that terrified him the most but he just couldn't remember what horrified him in that dream, and he had no intention to recall.

"Good morning Tenma…" Daidalos greeted him.

Daidalos' voice snapped Shun out of his thought, looking to the side where they found the Pegasus saint trudged towards their direction. "Good morning Daidalos… morning lesson?"

Cepheus smiled at him, "Well… would you like to join us Pegasus?"

Tenma smiled back, "Certainly Cepheus…"

Saints calling each other with their constellation name was regarded as the most formal way to address each other, but Daidalos meant it as invitation to join their class as his equal, to assist him in educating the future saints.

Daidalos nodded as he turned to address his disciples, "Well as you all know that since yesterday Pegasus Tenma has joined us, it's a good opportunity to learn from a saint other than me."

Leda raised an eyebrow in disapproval followed by Spica, "I am not sure I want to learn from someone who is younger than me." He pointed out nonchalantly.

The Cepheus saint frowned and was about to remind Leda of his place, but Tenma spoke first. "That's what my opponents said when I competed with them for my cloth, well… something along those lines…" He paused then spoke with voice that was much lower than his, "Like hell I am going to be beaten by a brat younger than me!" Then he laughed, "But as you can see… I beat them all!"

Leda's eyes widened, "You competed in a tournament for your cloth?"

"Off course!" Tenma answered a bit too quickly, "No cloth is granted to those who can't complete the test for the said cloth!"

Daidalos knew why Tenma was offended; all proud saints gained their cloth through sweat and blood. "Leda… stop underestimating people, younger than you he might be… but he is still a full pledged saint and you are _just_ a trainee."

The pink haired boy was taken back, realized that he had been so rude to a saint and not a child who was younger than him. "My apologizes…" He muttered slowly to Tenma.

Tenma shook his head, "its fine…" Then turned to Daidalos, "I guess you want to start teaching them about different types of cosmos application? Since I am here, the demonstration could be done properly." Tenma suggested.

"Ah…" Daidalos chuckled softly at that, "That's exactly what I thought." Then he turned to his disciples, "So like he said my dear disciples, that will be our lesson for today."

To be honest Leda, Spica and June preferred physical training for the whole day rather than their master's infamous long lectures. Shun on the other hand was excited to know what they would learn from Daidalos and Tenma. Spica raised his hand, "Master, I thought you had taught us about what we could do with cosmos? We can use it to fight, enhancing our senses, and healing."

Daidalos smiled at that, "Well… that's basically the shell, what we will teach you today is more advanced than that." He explained then turned to Tenma, "More about how to use cosmos in battle, to be precise."

Tenma nodded in agreement then turned to the trainees, "Okay, for a start since I am new here… can you please introduce yourself to me again? Tell me your name and cloth you are training for." The Pegasus saint inquired with a smile.

They looked at each other as if wondering what Tenma wanted to do, before his fellow disciples could decide, Shun spoke first. "I am Shun! I am training for Andromeda cloth." He said cheerfully.

Tenma grinned, "Okay, next!"

June was snapped out of her thought, and then answered nervously. "I am June, training for Chameleon cloth!"

"I am… Leda!" The pink haired boy stammered nervously, "I am training for Piscis Austrinus cloth!"

Spica looked around only to found himself to be the only one left who had not introduced himself, "I am training for Cassiopeia cloth! My name is Spica!"

Daidalos nodded sagely, satisfied his disciples complied with Tenma's order. "I guess now you understand why I wanted to teach this topic so badly…" He said to Tenma with a smile.

The Pegasus saint smirked then turned to Shun and other disciples. "Well, no wonder… all trainees in here trained for weapon using cloths." He commented with thoughtful face, "Learning from you alone would be disadvantageous for them."

When Daidalos nodded in agreement, June scoffed at Tenma. "Excuse me? Are you implying our master is not good enough to teach…"

Her master cut her in, "June, Tenma was speaking the truth. It has nothing to do with my teaching skill, but more to the fact all of us train in weaponry skill mostly." He explained loftily, "Our weapon is the very core of our fighting style, but what would you do once you lose your weapon?"

June was flustered at her outburst, stammering an apology. "I am sorry Master… Pegasus, but when the whip of my cloth… it's possible for an enemy to knock it off of my hand…" She trailed off, "Master you use… your chain is attached to your cloth right? So does Shun's, Spica's and Leda's."

Tenma's answer to that was quick, "It's not impossible to shatter your chains to pieces."

Spica raised his hand, "But our cloth is made of the best material in the world! Crafted by the best blacksmith of Lemurian! It can't break so easily!"

"It's durable off course." Tenma muttered in agreement, "But it's not as durable as you thought especially bronze and silver, not even the gold cloths survived since the age of myth without dying at least once."

Shun blinked as repeating, "Died? How does a cloth die? It's alive?"

Daidalos chuckled softly, "Yes Shun… It's alive like us humans, they have a mind of their own… in fact Andromeda is one of the most hyper cloth around especially if it senses danger approaching." He explained in amused tone.

The Pegasus saint laughed at that, "Hyper? That's one way to put it, I heard the last owner got pulled around by it in the holy war." He informed which made the Cepheus saint chuckle in response, "Well… so Shun, make sure you hold that leash on your cloth ne? Andromeda like Daidalos said… is hyper though pushy and brash are more like it."

Cepheus titled his head to the side, "I can't deny that… though I think Andromeda's personality would fit nicely with Shun's."

"Unique combination you mean?" Tenma corrected playfully, "Anyway… back to our main topic, cosmos application…" Tenma trailed off then paused when saw Shun raised his hand, "Yeah Shun, you want to ask something?"

Shun nodded shyly, "Uhm… I was wondering what kind of personality your cloth has Tenma… and Master Daidalos' Cepheus too…"

The silver saint laughed at the question, and Tenma blinked repeatedly. "My cloth is a very calm one Shun, it might be the father of your cloth but nothing like Andromeda. In battle though… my cloth, my chain can be quite vicious. If I want to describe Cepheus… it's like a sleeping lion."

Shun looked at Tenma, expecting him to come out with a proud portrayal of his cloth but nothing came out oh his mouth. "Hh…hm…" Tenma mumbled with thoughtful face.

"Tenma?" Shun called.

The Pegasus saint smiled sheepishly, "It's hard to describe what kind of cloth Pegasus is… It's… passive."

Daidalos raised an eyebrow, "I see… well you gained possession of it not long ago, it's understandable you have not come to full understanding your cloth. But then again there are many cloths that's very passive that some saints wondered if they are alive at all."

Tenma shook his head, "It's not like that Daidalos…" He objected, "When I said it's passive… I mean it's very quiet, let's just say this cloth of mine is the very opposite of me." He explained, "Funny it does not fit my kind of battle style at all…"

Daidalos nodded, "Oh… anyway Tenma, you are the only Pegasus saint I know so I don't know what kind of power your constellation holds." Daidalos muttered curiously, "What type you are?"

Tenma pointed at his face, "Oh me? I am a buster type." He informed Daidalos with a grin.

The blond saint can't help but smiled at that, "Just perfect… if you are a grappler type, it would hard to demonstrate it." And before any of his disciples could open their mouth to ask Daidalos began his explanation, "There are four types of cosmos applications, most of us use one or two of it… but it's not rare to find a saint who could use up to three and four." Then he turned to Tenma, "And Pegasus here… I am sure he could use two of it."

All trainees oh-ed, Shun was staring at Tenma in admiration and wondering what Tenma would teach them today. He was sure he would pull off anything Tenma and his master asked, it felt nice to be able to fulfill someone's expectation. Tenma cleared his throat, "As you know… the most basic way to apply cosmos is enhancing physical strength of your body, which is why…" He trailed off as walked away around ten feet from the group, Daidalos could foresee what Tenma was up to and he wondered if this was how gold saints taught Tenma. All trainees gasped when Tenma suddenly crushed his fist to the ground, but confused when nothing happened to it. Tenma walked back to them with a smile, "As you can see… in this case we saint, simply put generous amounts of cosmos in our fist to break atom."

Leda scoffed, "I can't see…"

BOOM

Daidalos whistled at sudden explosion that left a huge crater on the ground, rocks were thrown to the air then fell back to earth. He chuckled softly at the stunned faces of his disciples then turned to his fellow saint, "That's not simply clashing your cosmos to break atom but instead overload the atom within the ground, that way it become unstable then explodes." The Argentinian saint deducted with thoughtful face.

"As expected of Cepheus Daidalos… "Tenma commented with blatant admiration in his voice, "The basics of this technique were taught by Taurus Aldebaran to me, well… it's a nice technique for those who prefer not to see their enemies pulverized right away in such grotesque ways." Tenma informed him with a small smirk. "So typical of Aldebaran." Tenma added softly that Daidalos barely could hear it. Then turned to the trainees, "Err… you guys can close your mouths now, it's nothing to gape at."

Spica gulped at the sight of big crater, "But… that's one huge hole!"

Tenma sighed then turned to Daidalos, "Okay… Demonstrating one that's a bit advanced would be okay."

The Cepheus saint raised his arms and his chains came alive, "Certainly…"

The chain of Cepheus danced like a twin snake around his arms, and then suddenly Daidalos launched his chain to pierce a big rock. At first there was only a small hole where the chain pierced but suddenly the rock burst to pieces, exploding just like the ground that was crushed by the Pegasus saint.

"This… is a combination between weapon and what Tenma did before, weapon users like us mostly use our cosmos to control the movement of our weapon however this way we can also strengthen our attack." Daidalos explained as his chain crawled back to his arms with clinking sound. "When we have the advantage of range in a fight our attack is monotonous, however, those who have experienced enough in battle could easily disarm us with telekinesis, illusion, or using other kinds of weapon because our concentration in battle would be focused on controlling our weapon." He muttered as raised his cross-shaped chain-end.

* * *

Ten minutes later…

"If you can do this, it would be a good surprise attack, as a saint we should always have more than one secret up our sleeves. That's why I want you to master not just how to fight as a weapon user saint but also other styles of fighting to make you an adept fighter." Then turned to Tenma, "And Pegasus here is buster type, it is one of the most flexible fighting styles…" He trailed off, "So to learn…"

The Pegasus saint raised his hand to stop Daidalos from continuing his lecture, "Daidalos… your disciples are already asleep in the middle of your long lecture." He pointed out as he titled his head to the trainees.

Daidalos blinked when he saw Leda and Spica leaned on each other, sleeping soundly, June rested her face on her palms and not awake for sure. Shun on the other hand barely awake as his eyes were teary and he looked ready to fell asleep any second but nevertheless Shun was the only one who tried his best to stay awake. Daidalos cleared his throat loudly; embarrassed he had let himself loose again.

While usually a master would scold his disciples harshly for their rudeness, Daidalos knew that not even his fellow silvers could stay awake once he ranted on about cosmos theory and literature. When Crystal (as expected of Aquarius Camus' disciple) could appreciate his lecture, his other close friend namely Scutum Gardna would not think twice to dropping dead and snoring as loud as he could. Gardna even politely excused himself to depart to a world of dreams before Daidalos started. The Cepheus saint simply couldn't blame anyone falling asleep in his lecture.

Leda, Spica, and June snapped awake then they clapped their hands, "That's amazing Master Daidalos!" Spica and Leda cheered in chorus, even though they fell asleep in the first minute of the lecture and June could only nod in agreement.

Daidalos rubbed his temples then turned to his fellow saint, "May I know how you can stay awake? No offense, but you look nothing like the type who could stay awake through my lecture."

Tenma narrowed his eyes then looked at the distance, "Believe me… Aquarius Camus is a very creative scholar in making sure people do not fall asleep in his class." He informed as shuddered at the memory. "I even can't blink when he explain cosmos theory to me since he froze my eyelids… that's when I was four."

The Cepheus saint stared at Tenma, wondering if Crystal's master was really capable of such a feat. "Okay… anyway since I am sure all of you listened to my lecture." He muttered with a small smirk, in which his disciples faces turned to absolute horror. "You guys can start by picking a rock, the size of your palm." He explained as picked a rock then crushed it as if it was a fruit. "Just squeeze it till it cracks, and remember don't pump cosmos more than what you capable of."

Tenma nodded in agreement, "Trust me, getting your hands burned is soooooo painful! So just pump a safe amount gradually till you get used to it!" He informed them in which no one needed a Sherlock to know Tenma spoke from his own experience and they couldn't help but cringed. "This is actually how most of the bronze saints' fight, grappler types enhancing their physical power with cosmos." Tenma explained, "If you fight with this kind of opponent, you would be at an advantage since they are no good in mid and long-range distance attacks." He finished with a smile.

"Tenma is right… however don't underestimate them since if they are fast enough to catch you in close-range with their expertise…" Daidalos trailed off, "You are doomed."

June raised her hands, "Master… among us, me who uses the whip is the one with the shortest attack range so how do I fight with close-range opponents if I get caught?" She asked worriedly.

Daidalos smiled at the question, "That's a very good question and what I would like to teach you for the next few months. The solution is simple yet not easy to achieve, we should learn how to fight in close-range like grappler types or better yet… a buster type like Tenma."

At once all eyes fell on him, Tenma laughed at them.

"I am not a rare animal you know? There are buster types like me…" He said as he reached out his hand then shot a beam of light to the distance, and once again four pair of eyes stared in awe.

"We form cosmos to an elemental attack then launch it like that, and to achieve this we have to master grappler type attacks first, we are well balanced fighters. But off course in long-ranged attacks we are still no match with a chain user like you." Then Tenma turned to Daidalos, "And do you know that your master is famed for his varied range of fighting techniques?" Tenma asked with a grin.

Now all eyes landed on Daidalos, the Cepheus saint only smiled. "I am flattered but still… while I am well-versed, I am no expert so it would be better if you ask Tenma for buster type attacks."

Tenma rolled his eyes, "And he is also famed as the humble saint, don't you think your master is so modest?"

Shun chuckled softly at that, and soon even June can't suppress her giggling. Leda and Spica grinned at the flustered Daidalos. "Okay… back to our training! No more teasing!"

"Yes, Master Daidalos!" They chorused.

* * *

Aldebaran of Taurus was tracing his finger through the long list on his scroll carefully, reading line by line with stern voice. "In China or precisely Mount Xiqiao National Forest Park, there are numbers of villagers from nearby village missing. Search party who was looking for them also went MIA. We can safely assume it's also the same case that happened in ten locations I mentioned before… though we still have not received clear information of what is the creature that lurking on the depth of the forest." Aldebaran finished with a sigh. "It's a chaos Holy Father… if we didn't act quickly not even us could hide it from public eyes."

Saga crossed his fingers together, and then turned to Shaka. "Virgo Shaka, arrange a notification to all saints in the world and make sure Aiolia and Milo have all saints in contact with them." Then he paused, "Or better… call them here at once! We will inform Shura and Camus who are not in sanctuary later."

Then he turned to Aphrodite who sighed, "I know…" Then Aphrodite looked up with his eyes closed. "DeathMask will be here in few minutes, he is on the way here by the way."

"Milo and Aiolia are in Scorpio Temple and would be here soon enough." Shaka informed them with his serene voice.

Saga nodded, "Good… well then, let's wait for them and we can begin our meeting."

Daidalos and Tenma was watching the Andromeda's trainees sparing, Shun VS Leda and June VS Spica. But the saints' attention was distracted to the vast ocean; there was something that disturbed them greatly. Tenma was the first one who spoke, "Daidalos… the air is so thick and heavy."

The Cepheus saint nodded in agreement, sweat trailed from his temples down his chin. "Yes… I feel it since sunrise, it annoys me to no end… it as if someone was looking at us from somewhere and we have no idea from where." He muttered as his chains clinking in alertness.

Tenma nodded in agreement, "No matter who or what, it can't be good…" Tenma stated tonelessly, "I feel like it watched us with hungry eyes, that we are its prey… so…" Tenma trailed off, "Should I go check it?" Tenma asked, "You can stay here and keep an eye on our trainees."

Daidalos shook his head, "Don't… I think it alert; showing that we are aware of it might be disastrous. We don't know what is it…" Then turned to Shun, Leda, Spica and June. "Our priority would be keeping them safe, pretend to be a good unaware little prey."

Tenma sighed, "A good idea, but I still think we should get a picture who is this bastard who keep watching us." The Pegasus saint scowled, "I feel its gaze crawling at me in such disgusting way!"

"I feel the same but what we could do?" Daidalos pointed out as raised his chain, "I can point out where is it, but jumping at it would be a reckless move." Then rolled his eyes to the ocean, "And just from cosmos alone we could tell it was deep beneath the sea, not a place for us to jump at."

"Which mean wait for it to jump at us?" Tenma asked incredulously, obviously not happy waiting for someone/something to attack them.

"Sadly…" The Cepheus saint trailed off, the idea of waiting to be attacked was not brilliant either for him. But it's not like they had a better choice, "Yes."

* * *

When all the six gold saints gathered in the throne room, were they ready to begin their meeting. However there was one gold saint who had no clue of why they were gathered, and he had his own topic to talk. So Cancer DeathMask without asking for permission as usual began his rant about their finance this month, which was always the first topic they were talking about in every meeting.

"So as usual when we have no financial difficulties, BUT I still think we can save money if we cut the budget for our pawn's wine!" DeathMask stated with a scowl, "Or better don't give them any at all because I hate to see them loitering around with smelly breath when they supposed to be on guard! They should be grateful we give them some in winter to keep them warm, so… in conclusion…"

Saga raised his hand, sweat-dropping at DeathMask's rant about financial. Believe it or not DeathMask was the sanctuary's accountant; he was the one who kept their financial accounts running smoothly. "DeathMask… I will reconsider your proposal later, this is an emergency meeting in case you didn't notice and I assure you we have no time to be concerned about pawns being drunk at all."

DeathMask raised an eyebrow, and then turned to his fingers that were busy with his abacus. "I still think we should be concerned if you see this number." The Cancer saint said as raised his abacus to show how much they could save with his proposal.

Aphrodite tapped DeathMask's shoulder, "It's an emergency meeting! So keep that away in your pocket before I throw it away to my rose bushes!"

DeathMask hugged his abacus protectively, "You are not throwing it anywhere!"

"Yes yes…" Aphrodite grumbled as rolling his eyes.

Aldebaran turned to Milo, "Hey, why is DeathMask still using an abacus these days? He could use calculator, easier and modern."

Milo grinned evilly, "DeathMask and a calculator? No way… do you know DeathMask and electronic devices aren't created for each other? As far as I know all electronic devices will break in his hand in ten seconds, that's why he loathes it with his very being and swears to stay loyal to his abacus, which never broke in his hand."

The Taurus saint sweat-dropped, "I see… but still why do all electronic devices break just because he is touching it?" He asked curiously.

"Nah… DeathMask is so weird that I wouldn't be surprise if one day we find out that he was an abandoned child of an alien." Milo muttered with a grin.

DeathMask turned to Milo with fury on his eyes, "I heard that Scorpio!"

"ENOUGH!" Saga exclaimed which startled all saints excluding Shaka, who seemed to have his own concern, "I don't want any trivial talk anymore and be quiet except you who have something important to say!"

That made all of them clamping their mouth shut, silence permeated in the air till Shaka began to explain. "In the last few weeks Aldebaran received many reports about mythological creature running amok in certain area all over the world. So far countries with confirmed reports of this are Egypt, China, India, Iraq, South Africa, Abu Dhabi, Italia, Austria, and Libya…"

Milo turned to Aldebaran, "Eleven country at once?" He asked incredulously. "You must be kidding me!"

Aldebaran nodded tiredly, "Well… that's what my subordinates have reported to me so..."

"We expect this list is growing by about…" SHaka trailed off as looking at the entrance, which in the next second a silver saint came running with panic painted on his face. "Now…"

The silver saint kneeled in front of his superior, and when Saga asked him to look up and report, he spoke calmly yet panic was clearly painted on his voice. "Lyra Orphee is here to report Holy Father. Under Lord Milo's order Crow Jamian had been dispatched to investigate mythological creature sightings in Italy, but when he was on the way…" Orphee paused, "Jamian was attacked by a group of harpies, he was able to escape but was injured and our physician predicted he would be out of duty for at least three weeks."

Aiolia turned to Milo, "Why of all people, it's Jamian you ordered to go to Italy?" He asked incredulously, "He was no fighter!"

Milo groaned, "I ordered him to scout only! With his crows he could easily comb through Italy without difficulties!" The Scorpio saint reasoned, "Who knows he would be attacked on the way there?"

Shaka turned to Milo and Aiolia, "Enough you two… this is no time for arguing!" He scolded them tonelessly, "At least now we know what's lurking in Italy, and we can plan what to do to deal with it."

Aldebaran nodded in agreement, "Shaka is right…" Then turned to Orphee, "Well, anything else?"

The Silver saint looked thoughtful for a while then looked up to Aldebaran, "Actually maybe this is trivial matter, but Jamian insisted that it's not just him making it up. He said…" Orphee trailed off.

Andromeda Island

Tenma rubbed his head when once again Shun backed away from Leda to dodge his punch, and Leda's next kick also perfectly received with Shun raised his arms for defense. The Pegasus saint turned to Daidalos, "When will Shun try to fight back?" He asked.

Daidalos sighed, "Sadly I doubt he would fight back anytime soon…"

He frowned at the reply, "Leda also attacked Shun half-heartedly because he knew Shun would only block it." Tenma pointed out as his eyes rolled to Daidalos, "At this rate what's the difference between sparing with Shun and training with a sandbag?"

"That's… a very cruel comparison, which…" Daidalos trailed off tiredly, "I can't help but agree with…" He paused, "Then again whenever I tried to talk to him, Shun always promised me to try harder next time. It's not like he didn't try but he always stopped before his fist could touch his opponent, he didn't make it up Tenma… Shun really feels bad hurting somebody else."

Tenma narrowed his eyes, "I see…" Then he paused, suddenly he froze on his track. "Daidalos! It's coming!" On his mind Tenma was panic and so did Daidalos, the cosmos they felt was not massive but the problem was it obviously not belong to human.

Daidalos tuned to the rock pier, horrified when he saw the wave had swallowed it. Cold salt wind crashing to his face, and the sight of the seashore of Andromeda Island was enough to spell impending doom of their home. "Tenma… whatever would appear from the sea… it's massive!" He exclaimed then turned to the Pegasus saint, "We should tell them to go in the volcano's direction! To the higher place! Whatever it is… it can blow a tsunami to us!" Tenma nodded in agreement before both of them disappeared from their places.

Shun and the other trainees were full of panic when their island suddenly shook violently, Leda and Spica could barely stand on their feet. June hugged Shun tightly; the Japanese boy's eyes were wide in horror. "Master! Tenma!"

Tenma and Daidalos rushed to their side as fast as they could, Daidalos hauled the frightened Leda and Spica up on his shoulders. "Tenma bring Shun and June! Hurry!" He yelled then dashed to volcano of Andromeda Island.

Shun and June gasped when Tenma suddenly appeared by their side, "Both of you! Quick! Hop on my back!"

"Eh?" June yelped, "No way we… " She blushed deep red.

Tenma groaned, "If I can lift up tons of boulder why I can't piggyback you two?" He asked incredulously. "Now just hop on before that monster gets us!"

"Yes!" June squeaked.

* * *

Daidalos put his disciples down then looked back, relieved to see Tenma and the rest of his disciples were right behind them. They were on a tall hill which neared the volcano but far enough in case the volcano erupted. When Tenma landed right in front of him, Daidalos asked. "Tenma, I hope they are alright?"

Tenma nodded, "You are alright I hope?"

June had swirling eyes, as she walked zig-zag to her master. "I am okay I guess… once the world stop spinning!"

Shun sweat-dropped, He had gotten used to it a little but piggybacked by Tenma was even scarier than a roller coaster. "Don't worry June it should stop spinning in few minutes."

Leda and Spica laughed at June, "You look so funny June! What happened to you? Land-sick?"

"SHUT UP!" June growled.

Tenma and Daidalos were no longer paying attention to the bickering trainee instead they were staring at the towering mythological creature on the seashore of Andromeda. The monster had the forelegs of a land animal and huge gaping jaws. It had the green scaly body of a fish and the coils of sea serpent. They can't help but stare in horror at the sight, Tenma was the first one who found his voice. "That's one huge monster… it's bigger than a whale by three times." He commented tonelessly, "And from its looks… don't tell me that is…"

Daidalos nodded in agreement, "Yes… it's Cetus, the same monster that attacked Ethiopia at the age of myth. As form of punishment to King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia… Poseidon's underling."

"Is this a joke, for Cetus of all things coming to attack Andromeda Island?" He asked incredulously.

The Cepheus saint chuckled softly as he raised his chains, "Whatever it is… I am sure it's up to no good to us and as saint of Athena…"

"It's our duty to stop it." Tenma continued as crackling his knuckles.

Daidalos turned to his disciple, "All of you stay here, we will stop that monster. Don't do anything reckless and stay together." He ordered them sternly. "Let's go Tenma."

"Yes!" Tenma saluted.

"Tenma!" Shun called, and the Pegasus saint turned to look at him. "Be careful! We will wait for you and Master Daidalos, please return safely!"

Daidalos smiled, "Off course Shun… "

"We will return before you know it!" Tenma assured him with a grin then at once the saints dashed to where the sea monster was.

* * *

Tenma and Daidalos looked up at the towering monster before them, the sea monster roared with gaping jaw full of sharp teeth. It's tail slammed to the sea, sending a huge wave crashing to Andromeda Island. Tenma and Daidalos dodged the wave, backed away to the higher ground. The roar of Cetus was followed by high pitched sound of a whale, sending chill down their spine and forcing them to cover their ears.

"Well… how to beat this thing?" Tenma asked. "But anyway can we shut this monster up first? Its sound is driving me insane!" He complained with a groan.

Daidalos chuckled at how calm Tenma could be in this situation, "Well… let me disable Cetus first with my chain. We could think with plenty of time as long as we stop it's movement, keeping it from running amok in this island." Daidalos muttered as his chains began it's dance in the air, "Nebula Chain!"

Cetus jerked up when it felt the chain of Cepheus encircled its massive body, roaring in anger. Tenma scowled, "Daidalos! Be careful or you will get pulled by Cetus!" He warned the Cepheus saint.

"I know!" He replied calmly, "Alright… I am done Tenma!" Daidalos said as tightened his hold on the chain, and the bind on Cetus' body tightened in the process.

Cetus began to squirm to break free, and Daidalos was pulled a little from where he stood. "Daidalos! Let go!" Tenma said in panic, "At this rate Cetus will drag you with it!"

The Cepheus saint smirked, "As if I will let it do such thing!" He exclaimed as his cosmos glowed blue just like his cloth, and then blue electricity flowed from his hands to Cetus through the chain of Cepheus. The sea monster writhed in agony as thousands volt of electricity ran through it's massive body. But instead of staying still Cetus became vicious and tried to pull its capturer.

"UWAAA!" Daidalos yelped when Cetus suddenly jumped to the air, dragging the Cepheus saint with it.

"DAIDALOS!" Tenma yelled in horror, as Cetus' massive body crashed on Andromeda's seashore.

* * *

"HIIIIIY!" Spica yelped as he hugged Leda as tight as he could, suffocating the pink haired boy.

"Spi…ca…" Leda choked out, "Air… you… I can't…. breath!"

June groaned as she tried to pull Spica off of Leda, "Spica! Let Leda breathing!"

"We will die! That monster is so big! It will drown our island!" Spica ranted in panic.

The future Chameleon saint was fighting her urge to kick her fellow trainee, "Oh shut up! It's Master Daidalos and Tenma who are fighting that monster out there, NOT you!" She pointed out in annoyed tone.

Shun nodded in agreement, "Master and Tenma promised us that they will return safely…" Shun reminded them with a smile, and all eyes fell on him.

"How you can be so sure Shun?" Leda asked as shoved Spica off of him.

The green haired boy smiled at them, "Because they promised us, they are… saint of Athena. Warrior of hope… they are our hope, right?"

June's lips curved up to a smile, "You are right… Shun."

* * *

Daidalos hopped on Cetus's massive body, pulling his chains and squeezed Cetus' scaly body. "Ugh…" Struggling to keep his balance on the slippery surface.

Tenma followed the Cepheus saint, landed few feet away behind him. "Daidalos! I think electrocuting it again is not a good idea! At least not if it's not enough to kill it at once!"

**BADUMP**

Tenma winced at the familiar feeling of his world colliding with an illusion, it as if the world had been colored by myriad color of death. Unreal image of deep forest where birds that only feathers and bones left perched on trees, staring at him with empty socket. Tenma bit his lips till blood flowed; the pain snapped him awake from the world of illusion.

"I agree!" Daidalos admitted with a scowl, "It's just set this monster berserk!" He added as he withdrew his chain back to his arms, "Tenma! Try to attack it! Let's see how durable Cetus' body is!"

The Pegasus saint didn't need to be told twice, "Off course!" He agreed as raised his shining fist, "Pegasus Sui Sei Ken!" He said as jumped to the air and massive bullet of light was shot from his 's eyes widened when his attack collided with Cetus' body, leaving a gaping hole. But it did not ended there; Tenma could see the bullet of light had pierced through to the other side of Cetus' body.

"What the…" He gaped as landed softly near Daidalos, "I even didn't use my full power! His body is so fragile!" He kept ranting to distract himself from the image, telling himself that was nothing but the imagination of his. Tenma winced when suddenly the image of a familiar house came to his mind and children he never met came out to welcome him warmly, if Daidalos was not there he would not hesitate to punch himself in his face, whatever he could to awake himself from the horrible living nightmare.

The blond silver saint narrowed his eyes as he scanned his chains, "Tenma… look." He said as showed his chains to Tenma.

Pegasus saint once again snapped awake then wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Eww! What the…? There are flesh and blood soaking your chains!"

Daidalos sighed as he used his cosmos to coat his chain, burning all blood and flesh that dirtied his chains. "It's weird… from what I know from myth, Cetus' body might not be the strongest among sea monsters however… this is ridiculous. Cetus' body is as fragile as alabaster stone."

They jumped again when Cetus tried to throw them off of its body with jumping to the air, destroying part of Andromeda Island in the process. "Hey Daidalos, I know it's not a right time for talking about this but… this monster… it's smell bad! And I know it's not the smell of fish!" Tenma shook his head when he started to see illusions; it was not the right time for this. He closed his eyes trying to break free, but the image of the marching limp bodies of children keep assaulting his mind. Tenma opened his eyes briefly, snapped out of his thought at Daidalos' shout.

The Argentinean saint nodded in agreement, "I won't blame you for that because this fish is not smelling fishy even for me!" He commented, "Off course there is still the smell of what I expected of a sea monster but that's not the strongest smell emitted!" Daidalos pointed out, "And the smell is stronger from the hole you made! This smell is…"

"It's the smell of carcass! It as if this monster is already dead!" Tenma finished, "Uh Oh… JUMP!" Once again they had to jump off of Cetus body when the sea monster jumped to the sea.

SPLASH!

* * *

**Sanctuary**

"Smell of dead body?" Milo repeated incredulously, "From harpies that attacked Jamian?"

Orphee nodded, "Yes my lord… Jamian insisted those harpies smelt like corpse."

All gold saints looked at each other then back to Orphee, once again Milo was the one who decided to speak first. "I am sure Harpy smells bad but I thought Jamian is used to the smell of bird?"

The Lyra saint was confused at how to answer that, "I don't know Lord Milo, Jamian insisted that he is not making it up."

Milo frowned at that, "But still…"

"Milo…" Shaka called him, "There is no point of arguing whether or not Jamian was hallucinating, I think we should dispatched one team to exterminate those harpies." Shaka suggested then turned to Saga, "Holy Father… I think we could send two silvers and three bronzes to go after those harpies, we can't let it attack civilians."

Aldebaran nodded in agreement, "You are right, and I am sure by now Shura has almost finished his mission in German. Just send two silver saints and Shura will lead the team." He suggested, "But Italy… shouldn't DeathMask go instead?" Aldebaran wondered out loud as je turned to the Cancer saint.

DeathMask groaned, "I wish I could! But I have not finished the proposal for this year budget yet, I still can't decide whether or not we should increase budget for preservation of our heritage! I know the temple near Athena's spring is about to collapse! But why should we bother to fix that thing when we never use it?" He asked incredulously.

Aphrodite shook his head, "DeathMask… stop talking about our finance please, you are embarrassing us in front of Orphee."

The Italian saint glared at the Pisces then to the silver saint who can't help but start.

"What?" DeathMask growled.

Orphee shook his head, "I didn't hear anything my lord!"

Saga sighed, "DeathMask… I will listen to your report later, but for now…" He trailed off then turned to Leo saint, "Aiolia… contact Shura, tell him to rendezvous with Hound Asterion in Italy. And also contacted Cerberus Dante, the one in charge of Sicily's training ground."

Aiolia looked surprised at the name Saga chose, "Holy Father… do you intent to capture these harpies?"

Saga nodded, "I knew there is a probability that even Asterion couldn't read their mind, however according to myth Harpies are cunning creature…" The Gemini saint explained loftily, "At least we can try to find out the source of this phenomena."

The Leo saint nodded, "I understand, I will arrange it as soon as possible."

* * *

Tenma and Daidalos were gasping for breath, as the sea monster beneath then squirmed in agony. "Hey… Daidalos…" Tenma called him between gasp. "Why is it not died yet?"

Daidalos wiped sweat that gathered around his face, "I want to know why myself…" He admitted, "This is simply outrageous…"

The saint of Athena had attacked Cetus with all they had, the sea monster had done no meaningful damage. Due to its massive body it only damaged Andromeda's landscape but it was unable to fight Daidalos and Tenma back. They could attack Cetus at ease as long as they were on it, away from its grasp. Cetus' massive body had holes all over it, result of continuous assault from Daidalos and Tenma. But for some reason the sea monster was very much alive and kicking as if it didn't feel the pain.

"I thought all Perseus did is cut its gut open and then Cetus died!" The Pegasus saint pointed out in annoyed tone, "But we have make holes everywhere and it's still squirming! Not to mention the smell is becoming stronger! I think I will pass out for the smell alone!" Tenma complained as covered his nose.

Daidalos nodded in agreement, "I don't think we can ignore the smell anymore, this is definitely abnormal and we should find out what is the cause!" Then the Cepheus saint tried to sniff the air nervously, cringed at the unpleasant smell. "Hey… other than smell of something rotten... There is something else but what might it be?" Daidalos wondered out loud.

The Pegasus saint sniffed the air, "You are right… at first we didn't smell anything but now with that many holes on Cetus, what is this smell?" Tenma blinked, "Hm… it comes from inside…" The Pegasus saint suddenly grinned widely, "Daidalos! I will go inside this hole!" He told the Cepheus saint as pointed the first hole he made with Sui Sei Ken.

His eyes widened, "What? Are you crazy Tenma?"

"Nah…" Tenma grinned, "If making a Swiss cheese out of this fish is not enough to kill it, I think we should pulverized it from inside and outside!" Tenma suggested cheerfully. "What do you think?"

Despite the cheerful mask he wore, Tenma was tortured inside by images that kept coming to him, forests of death, an old abandoned orphanage, children that… He wanted nothing but to have finished Cetus off as fast as he could, because he knew it was Cetus who made him feel that way.

Daidalos sighed, "I agree but I think I should be the one who attacks from inside its body." He pointed out sternly, "It's dangerous Tenma."

Pegasus scoffed, "Daidalos… you of all people know that with your chain, you are more suitable to attack from outside! And I would do better if I attack from inside… I know what I am doing."

"If you say so…" He gave up the argument, "However make sure you come up in one piece! Gold saints will have my head if something happens to you." He reminded the younger saint.

Tenma grinned at that, "Okey Dokey!" Then he jumped to the hold with an excited squeal.

The Cepheus saint chuckled softly, "Well he sure is not as tired as I am." He commented then closed his eyes to concentrate, _/Tenma… where are you now? I hope you have not landed inside Cetus' stomach/_

Tenma looked around him at the pitch black and he could barely see anything, and then lighted up the surroundings with his cosmos. _/I don't know but it smells funny here, aside from rotten meat smell… hum… what is this smell…/_

/_Think about it later… I almost finished tying this sea monster up with my chain, but are you sure you would be alright if I electrocute Cetus?_/ Daidalos asked worriedly.

Tenma laughed at that, /It's OK, I will coat my body with cosmos and then attack at the same time with you. It should be fine./ He assured the older saint.

Cepheus looked down then gripped his chains firmly, /If you say so… get ready then, on the count of three…"

Three…

**Two**

**One**

**GO!**

**PEGASUS RYU SEI KEN!**

**NEBULA CHAIN!**

**BOOM**

Cetus' body was crumbling as hundreds of light bullets shot up from inside its body, and the high voltage electricity shredded its flesh from outside. Even from afar the trainees of Andromeda could see the sea monster exploding and torn to pieces, what remained of its massive body falling to the sea and ground. Daidalos landed on the nearest ground he could find then looked around to find his comrade, startled when he heard a loud thump from behind. He looked back to find Tenma soaked in blood, which obviously not his and also something slimy in green color.

Tenma looked at his body in disgust, "Yuck! Eww… I stink!"

Daidalos shook his head with an amused smile painting his lips, "Well… at least you are alive and kicking Tenma." Then turned to Cetus' remains. "And we got rid of it…" Then his eyes widened when he saw chunks of flesh starting to crumble and become dust. "It's… what's happening?"

Tenma raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about…" He trailed off then gaped, "Hey! Its body becoming dust!"

"Tenma… did you do something when you were inside Cetus?" Daidalos asked.

Tenma shook his head, "Other than attacking it? No… I didn't and my attack basically is just cosmos bullets that are fired from my fist, I shouldn't pulverize Cetus' flesh that badly…" He said as turned away trying to hide his pained face when another image assaulted his mind.

"Neither would mine…" Daidalos added in agreement, "At least I don't have to worry about cleaning up my island later." He shrugged."And the smell too..." He added.

"Speaking of cleaning…" Tenma trailed off, "I really need a bath! I think I will faint because of my own smell!" Tenma whined.

"MASTER! TENMA!"

From afar they could see the rest of Andromeda islanders coming to their direction as fast as possible, they looked worried but relieved in the same time. June hugged Daidalos as tight as she could, "Master, you are okay!"

Spica huffed, "Off course our master is alright! He is a silver saint! An oversized whale like that won't be able to leave even a scratch on our master!" He exclaimed proudly.

Leda and June rolled their eyes, "Uh huh… said by someone who thought all of us would die because of the said oversized whale~" Leda sang-songed mockingly.

Spica blushed deep red, "Shut up!"

Shun was about to hug his friend but was stopped by Tenma himself, "No no… Shun, I stink! Cetus' guts smell like hell you know?" He warned Shun as wrinkled his nose in disgust.

All eyes landed on Tenma then at once the three trainees backed away from him, "You stink!" Leda pointed out as pinched his nose.

"Yes I do." Tenma admitted in mocking tone, "I did say so myself and please… a little smell is a cheap price to pay to pulverize that sea monster!"

"Uh huh…"

June breathed through her mouth. "You better go to our well before the blood dries! But I think you will need to use lots of water to get rid of the smell!" The Ethiopian trainee pointed out.

Tenma sighed, "Yeah I know, that's why I will go back to sanctuary for now… I need to report this incident to the Pope too."

Shun's eyes widened, "You will go back so soon?"

The Pegasus saint laughed softly, "I will be back by tonight Shun, I don't want to waste your precious water to get rid of this disgusting smell…" He muttered softly, "Beside I don't think I could delay reporting about what happened here to our Pope." He lied nervously; in fact he wanted to go home so badly. He wanted to run to Shaka to help him to erase the painful illusion. Then he turned to Daidalos, "Just leave it to me Daidalos, I will handle the report myself so… is there anything you might want to add?"

Daidalos shook his head, "No… but are you sure you can go back on your own?" He asked worriedly, recalling abysmal psychic skill of Tenma Aphrodite told him about.

Tenma blushed deep red, "I have no problem teleporting back to sanctuary! I only have trouble teleporting to places I never come to or visited rarely!"

"Are you sure?" Daidalos asked again.

"I am sure!" Tenma yelled indignantly.

* * *

**Sanctuary**

Hound Asterion entered the throne room nervously, wondering why he had to meet the Pope personally when usually only Leo Aiolia and Scorpio Milo gave indirect orders from the Pope. He found Orphee was already there, and then kneeled beside his fellow silver saint. "Hound Asterion is here as you commanded my lord." He saluted.

Saga leaned back to the backrest of his throne, "Asterion… Hound Asterion, I am sure you wonder why I call you just for a mission." At Asterion's nod Saga continued, "There is a mission that I am sure gravely needs your mind-reading skill, however… I need to confirm something first before I send you for this mission."

Asterion nodded obediently, "Ask anything you wish my lord."

The Gemini saint smiled beneath his mask, "I want to know to what extend you can read mind when it comes to… animals."

The Hound saint was taken back at unexpected question but dared not to ask, "Animals…" He muttered with a thoughtful look, "Unfortunately… very limited, after all… an animal's brain is nowhere as advanced as a human." Asterion explained, "However as long as the said animal at least possesses intelligence at the same level of a dog, I could read their mind… but off course what they think of is really simple such as hunger, desire to mate and so on."

All gold saints nodded, Aldebaran was the first one to speak. "How about birds Asterion? Can you read their minds?"

The Dark haired man looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "I have only ever tried to read Jamian's crows… I could, though I have to say if we want to get information out from animal…" He trailed off, "Bird is definitely not the animal I would choose."

Milo huffed, "Okay… at least you could read a bird's mind, though I doubt harpies are bird-brained creature."

"Harpy?" Asterion repeated with shock clearly written on his face. "They still exist at this age?" He asked incredulously.

"They are…" Deathmask answered with a smirk, "Since Jamian reported he almost become their lunch today."

"Anyway…" Saga cut in before DeathMask can go any further, "Asterion, you are going to Italy now… meet Capricorn Shura and Cerberus Dante there. Shura will be the team leader; your mission is to capture the harpies that currently are running amok in Italy. Your task is to read their minds, find out how they could end up in Italy and if they are controlled by someone."

Asterion nodded, "Yes… Holy Father…" Then he stood up slowly, "Well then, excuse me…" He muttered as turned back to the entrance of the room.

Once Asterion was out of their sight Saga turned to address the Lyre saint, "Orphee… "

"Yes my lord?"

Saga sighed, "I am sorry but I would like to cancel your performance tonight, even though you have asked to perform since a long time ago…" Saga said with apologetic look.

Orphee shook his head, "Holy Father… I know it's not the right time, however it's been so long since the last time I entertained you and the gold saints with my lyre." He muttered with worry clearly sipped to his voice, "I am nothing but you're subordinate, even so… I wish I could at least ease your tiredness with my music…"

"Orphee…" Saga cut him in, "I understand your good will, and you are too kind Orphee…"

The Lyra saint blushed deep red, "Holy Father… I am just… "

"Holy Father…" Shaka cut him in, "I think it's alright to relax for tonight, we have been so busy in the last few weeks… and last night is the first night you could rest properly this week." The Virgo saint listed on, which Aphrodite nodded in agreement. "And as your advisor, I think… It's not wise to refuse Orphee's generous offer."

"Lord Shaka…" Orphee was grateful the Virgo saint understood his intention.

Aphrodite nodded again, "I also agree with Shaka, as your physician off course."

Aiolia and Milo smiled at each other; they also were fond of Orphee's music and they were really in need for relaxation. "Well…"

Saga sighed, it seemed everybody agreed that he need a time to relax. Beside there was no point locking himself in his study-room worrying about what happened out there before his subordinates returned with new clues. "Hh… Orphee, I am looking forward to your performance tonight."

The Lyra saint beamed at that, "Thank you Holy Father, I promise you my best performance for tonight!"

Saga nodded, "Very well Orphee, you may excuse yourself now. I want you to rest properly for tonight performance."

"Yes my lord…" Orphee muttered in gratitude but when he was about to exit the room he froze at the sight of Tenma who was drenched wet from head to toe. "Tenma? What happened to you?" He asked as stepped aside to let the Pegasus saint in, and then Orphee wrinkled his nose when he smelt familiar sharp smell. "And why do you smell like…" He trailed off, "Misty?"

Aldebaran gasped in horror then rushed to Tenma, "Oh my dear! Tenma… did you teleported in the middle ocean again?"

Tenma groaned, "I did not!"

Aphrodite rolled his eyes, "Nah… he did that yesterday."

DeathMask sighed as rubbing his head, "Again?"

"That… doesn't explain why you smell strongly like a rose!" Milo pointed out then turned to Aphrodite, "Did you give him your perfume again?"

The Pisces saint scoffed, "I only give those to Misty! And I make it for fun, even I don't use it myself."

Tenma glared at Orphee, "It's Eurydice… " He scoffed, "When I arrived back in sanctuary I got caught by her and Marin, I was stinking so they forced me to take a bath in the nearest well! I can take a bath by myself but they insisted!" He yelled as he threw his arms to the air to emphasize his point. "I had to run away before they insisted to give me a bath again!"

Orphee sent him apologetic look, "Well Tenma… I will see you later, I will talk to them okay? I promise them won't catch you again downstairs." He promised as ruffled Tenma wet hair fondly then exited the room as chuckling softly.

DeathMask laughed at Tenma, "So you got caught by Orphee's and Aio's girl?"

Aiolia blushed deep red, "Marin is not my girl!"

"Yeah yeah…" DeathMask rolled his eyes, "And the rose perfume? Honestly it's not suited to you at all Tenma."

The brown haired boy scowled, "Does it seem like I enjoy it to you?" He asked the Cancer saint incredulously, "Since even Marin and Eurydice used a full bottle of liquid soap I am still stink… Misty who happened to be passing by poured a FULL bottle of rose perfume on me! I wondered myself which one is better, this stinky rose perfume or Cetus' guts' smell!"

"Cetus?" Saga asked with alarmed voice.

"Cetus, the sea monster that rampaged Ethiopia at the age of myth?" Shaka asked with shocked face.

Tenma nodded, "Yeah, it suddenly attacked Andromeda Island. Me and Daidalos already felt this creature since this morning though it attacked around noon." The Pegasus saint began his report, "It wreaked havoc on Andromeda Island for no reason, I doubt it was coming after anyone though."

Shaka and Aldebaran approached Tenma, trying to make sure he was not injured. "You are not hurt Tenma?" Aldebaran asked worriedly.

"No Alde…" Tenma answered a bit too quickly; he didn't want Aldebaran to gush over him. "Cetus even didn't leave a scratch on me or Daidalos, it's so big and slow." He added with a smile.

Shaka raised an eyebrow, "And may I know why you smelt like its guts?"

"Err…" Tenma avoid looking at Shaka's face, he was sure they won't be happy to hear what he did. "I was kind of jumping into its body… so we can attack it from inside and outside…" The Pegasus saint explained nervously.

"Kind of?" Aldebaran repeated incredulously, "Why you did such thing?"

Saga nodded in agreement, "Can you please explain Tenma? You know that me and the gold saints don't appreciate reckless moves without reason."

"But Holy Father, we really can't help it! We already made so many gaping holes on its body but for some reason it was still alive, so we had no choice but to pulverized it completely!" He explained in a desperate tone, "It's like zombie!" Tenma clamped his mouth shut, realizing that the last part of his explanation was an inappropriate thing to say.

"Zombie…" Shaka repeated absentmindedly.

Tenma stammered an apology, "I… it's just me since the sea monster I fought smelt really odd aside from the smell of fish and sea." He reasoned, "And also when I was inside… it smelt like…"

Milo scratched his head, "Now you acted like Jamian did… why are you guys so concerned about the smell? Should we provide masker next time you fought?" He suggested.

"But it really smelled like a dead body! Like a corpse!" Tenma insisted.

"Carcass Tenma…" Shaka corrected, "It's an animal."

At Tenma's raised eyebrow Shaka knew the boy was thinking alone the line 'Is that what we should be concerned about' and he obviously looked annoyed. "Anyway… anything else Tenma? Because you had just added Somalia in our already long list… countries of mythological creature sighting."

"Huh? They also appeared somewhere else?" Tenma asked curiously, "How can that happen and why?"

Shaka sighed.

"That's what we want to know." He paused, "So since you are already inside of it, I wonder if you noticed something else?"

Tenma looked thoughtful for a while, "Its body was unbelievably fragile! Despite being as thick as a scale and what myth spoke of Cetus." He paused, "Oh! The remains after we pulverized it become dust… not even a chunk of flesh left." Tenma informed them.

Shaka and Aldebaran looked at each other, and soft murmur permeated in the air as they discussed it among themselves. "Then?"

Tenma scratched his head, "I am not sure but inside Cetus aside from the bad smell of rotten meat there was smell of something like… uhm…" Tenma tried to remember the familiar smell, "It smelt kind of like truth serum Dite made in his lab, yeah… it smelt like that I guess."

DeathMask turned to his best friend aka partner in crime, "You make something like that too?" He asked incredulously.

Aphrodite huffed, "I made it for a prototype!" He informed the Cancer saint, "I thought it was a good idea to invent rose, which smell could be used for interrogation!"

At this Aiolia and Milo backed away from Aphrodite and DeathMask. They were sure Aphrodite would try to do that, not just for interrogation but also for FUN, in which there would be a victim/ lab rat.

Milo and Aiolia had learned Aphrodite's taste of fun when the Pisces saint offered them rose tea last year, he claimed it made of apricot rose he had just invented. Aphrodite claimed the apricot rose he invented had a relaxing effect and made anyone who smelt it happy, they should have known from the suspicious description. And for that stupidity Milo and Aiolia were laughing non-stop till next morning, in which the Pisces saint claimed he didn't lie about making them happy.

A few days' later Milo and Aiolia found out that once again their little brother was the culprit. Tenma complained about why all roses Aphrodite used were dangerous, and then he suggested Aphrodite invent a rose that could make people happy. Off course the Pisces saint took Tenma's advise in his own fun way, and since then Aphrodite was so fascinated in inventing new species of his special rose. Milo and Aiolia knew that they should run away whenever Aphrodite tried to coax them into become his guinea pig. The Pisces saint didn't dare to try it on Shaka or Camus though, because he knew it would be one-way ticket to hell and Cocytus.

Saga sighed at the sight of Aiolia and Milo backing away from Aphrodite warily, not that he could blame them though. "Aphrodite… May I know from what you made this truth serum?"

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow, "It's the usual one my lord, I made it from cannabis… after all it is regarded as one with the most effectiveness."

"Isn't that illegal?" Aldebaran asked.

"Oh please…" Aphrodite deadpanned, "Its illegal if used in wrong way…"

Milo rolled his eyes, "And you use it in a right way?"

"Enough!" Shaka cut them in, "From this I could draw some conclusions, in which case Holy Father… it is no good news." He muttered as turned to Saga.

Saga sighed wearily; when Shaka said so he meant it. "What might it be?"

"Living corpse…" Shaka stated sternly, "The Cetus Tenma fought was able to move despite the grave damage Daidalos and Tenma made, it probably was nothing but an animated carcass of Cetus…"

All eyes became wide at the news; Aiolia was the first one who found his voice. "You mean something like a zombie?"

Shaka nodded, "Well… sounds ridiculous but that explains why Cetus could still move with that rotten body and also why its body was so fragile." He pointed out loftily, "And also…" He turned to Aphrodite, "Cannabis or Marijuana are drugs, if what Tenma smelt inside Cetus was really that… ancient sorcery might be involved."

Sorcery was part of Greece' history that had been disappeared, swallowed by time. It was the root of modern alchemy and herbology, since Greek sorcery was using mainly chemical substance and herbs and especially drugs. Circe who was sired by Helios was the most famed witch in history, but she too had disappeared just like sorcery not to mention even though she was a demigod and therefore mortal.

"So it's not Hades or Poseidon behind this?" Aldebaran asked.

Shaka shook his head, "If Poseidon… that didn't explain about Harpies in Italy, and if it's Hades…"

"It can't be him…" Tenma cut him in suddenly.

All eyes landed on Tenma; startled he suddenly said such thing out of blue. "Tenma, why do you say that?"

"Hades will not revive something… someone half-baked like that…" He stated sternly, his eyes empty as his mind wandered somewhere far away. Tenma was assaulted by the image of crying children, begging to be freed from torture.

Shaka nodded in agreement, "Well… according to our record, humans that were revived by Hades was very much alive and not an animated corpse so we can safely assume it's not him or Thanatos… the seal of Athena should be still in effect." Then he turned to Tenma, "Well then Tenma…" He trailed off then his eyes widened when he saw Tenma gasping for breath, hugging himself as tight as he could to the point his nails dug into his flesh. "TENMA!"

The Pegasus saint's eyes were wide open; his whole body was trembling in agony. "Shaa…ka… help me…"

"TENMA!"

All occupants of the room rushed to his side, panicked at his condition. Aldebaran tried to stop Tenma clawing his arms, and Shaka tried to call his unfocused attention. "Tenma look at me! What did you see?"

"Children…" Tenma answered in strangled voice, "They are in pain, crying to me… that I have to set them free… it's painful…" He choked out, "They bit me…"

Shaka's palm glowed a gold color, covering Tenma's eyes. "Tenma… it's not real! It's just an illusion… get a hold of yourself!"

"I… I…" Tenma rasped and the next thing he knew was pure darkness and his consciousness was sinking slowly on the depth of void.

"TENMA!"

* * *

Somewhere far away from the land of Greece, a mansion stood in the middle of a clearing in a dense wood. Around it wolves and Lions were playing like their smaller relative, eating wild flowers, acting strangely docile unlike vicious animal they were created to be.

On the top of the mansion, there was a big hole on its roof. A woman dressed in a purple tunic and long veil that covered half of her face sat in a massive couch that was covered in silk and velvet fabric. The attic of the mansion was a massive atelier where rows of cupboards full of chemical bottles, on the massive table laid various herbs with enchanting smells. The veiled woman smiled mischievously while looking at the beautiful plate that was adorned by Lapis Lazuli, she filled the said plate with water. Beneath the veil her eyes glinted in amusement while looking at the waters reflection that did not belong to her, but an image of a brown haired boy who was leaning on a body that wrapped in gold cloth, his pained face made her stomach flutter. She smirked when saw a blond saint wrapped in gold cloth covered the boy's forehead with his cosmos.

Her lips curved up to mischievous smile at the sight, "Pegasus saint…" She muttered while dipping her forefinger to the water. "How wonderful… a saint who is worthy to be called the God Slayer…" She licked her lips. "So your name is Tenma… Ah!" She gasped when the water surface started to shake and the image blurred.

"Che… it seems to spy on the depth of Athena's sanctuary for long is impossible, even with my power… well if I could see through them so easily…" She trailed off as stood up, and then walked to the nearest shelf on the room. "It wouldn't be interesting… this game…" She took out another plate, which was adorned with Peridot in various sizes. "Well… and another one..." She muttered as poured a generous amount of water to the plate then put it beside the Lapis Lazuli plate, then the image of green haired boy appeared. He was smiling as he chatted merrily with a blond haired amazon.

"The purest soul on earth…" She giggled softly, "What a cute little boy… Hades vessel is always gorgeous, well… Hades actually is the fairest among the sons of Rhea and Kronos… he can't have anything less." She said in mocking tone.

Then she heard the green haired boy talking to his friend, "I am worried about Tenma… June, he looked in pain when he left."

The blond girl frowned beneath her mask, "He looked fine to me…"

"But…"

She cooed mockingly at the sight of Shun who was obviously so worried for his friend, "Oh… how adorable, he is worried about Pegasus!" She said then laughed as she held her stomach, "Well little boy, I wonder if you could stay that way once Hades has possessed you… and you…" She trailed off. "Would think nothing but to rip his head off?" The witch muttered softly, "But don't worry, I will not let that happen… after all I need you, both of you…"

She frowned when a man wrapped in dark blue cloth entered the water surface and once again the image became blur then nothing could be seen. "I see… the 88 cloth of saints are blessed by Athena herself since the age of myth, this way it would be impossible to spy on her saints." She concluded in annoyed voice, "Well… it doesn't matter…" She muttered as she looked up to the sky where a bloody moon shone gloomily, her hand reached out as if to grasp the red moon within it. "It won't stop me, such a trivial obstacle. I will make sure that… Pegasus and this purest soul… would be…"

**MINE…**

**...**

Review please!

* * *

**BTW the woman I introduced in the last part is NOT an OC, I repeat... NOT AN OC but a character I imported from other series ^^ I have stock of other series I can relate to Greek myth. **

**I bet you guys didn't see DeathMask's position as accountant/treasurer of sanctuary coming XD Actually I just see that Cancer is good for that job and the image of our Masky with Abacus just crack me up! I wanted Shura to take that job before but... =_=; I just feel he is not fit, or simply nothing interesting if that's his job. Shura share the same zodiac with me though he is not my fave character, I would like he get a good spotlight in my story at least. So I am still thinking what job he could do... =3 **

**Anyway please read the side story, for those who want to imagine what _if _Dohko meet Tenma again someday in the future. XD  
**


	7. Living the Life of a Saint

**My trouble writing this chapter are sorting out the order of events and also pondering who I should focus on aside from Tenma, Shun, Shaka, Mu and Dohko. Well… some character have not get bits they deserve and I am SO well aware I almost ignore Shura, Aldebaran and freaking Saga (until last chapter) Oh sigh… I am having too much fun with Shaka, DeathMask, Camus and Dite… **

**And where are Ikki and Shiryu? Heck! Shiryu barely exists in this story! And since I have the same opinion with Jenny about how Silvers are neglected in our fandom I would like to give them some spotlight too! Anyway… I change the age of some silver saint to be older, some of them even older than gold saints. Seriously! I will whack my head to think Daidalos is actually 19 so he was 12 yrs old in my story. Some silvers looks a LOT older than gold saint but how the hell the oldest of them are 19? **

**SO… here the list of age for silvers **

**Asterion (16) Dante (19) Daidalos (19) Orphee (15) Marin(10) Shaina (11) Misty (13) Gardna (19) Crystal (16)**

**Warning: Not fixed, please wait until I put edited on my summary if you bothered a lot by my mistakes~  
**

* * *

**_Chapter 7: Living the life of a saint  
_**

* * *

_Thou… who detest endless war and seek eternal peace.  
Please let thy strength and flesh fall asleep together.  
Thy fist becomes a disaster and even gnaws away thy body_

_Therefore…_

"**But even so… I can't close my eyes…"**

_I wish thee a serene slumber _

"**I never wish that upon myself…"  
**_  
In exchange for the curse on thee, now, I shall offer this hymn.  
To protect thy heart, I shall grant thee eternal slumber  
I invite the darkly upheld soul toward salvation  
The spirit of the words of prayer spins into you, liberating your deep grief_

**That would be running away…**

**Not what I wish to do! **

**BAM!**

Tenma rose from his bed abruptly, slamming his fist to the soft mattress. Feathers sprung from ripped mattress, scattering in the air then raining down upon them. Shaka paused in the mid of playing his sarangi, raised an eyebrow at Tenma's peculiar behavior. When those brown orbs darted at him, Shaka could see confusion and… annoyance? Aphrodite chose that moment to enter the room with a tray that full of herb and medical equipment, smiling at the occupants of the room as he set down the tray on the table.

"Shaka…" Tenma called. "You are playing that song again?"

Shaka nodded, "It works to help you sleep soundly, you always fell asleep at a drop of a hat whenever you hear this melody since you were little." The Virgo saint said with amused smile.

"You were so cute that time…" Aphrodite said as he poured a cup of fresh water on the vase full of white roses. "Every time Shaka play that song you will doze off then dropped dead on the spot." He muttered with amused smile painted on his lips.

Tenma groaned, "Oh please Dite, I am not on the mood to be teased." He said as rubbed his throbbing head, "Ugh… my head…"

Aphrodite handed him a small cup of water, "Here… I mix the medicine on it, drink and I am sure it would get rid of your headache."

The Pegasus saint looked at the water that even though looked normal, when Aphrodite who gave it… "If you say so…" He muttered nonchalantly. As he had a hell of headache, who cares? **"#$%^&*(^$!"** Tenma squeaked.

"No one said it tastes nice." Aphrodite replied tonelessly, "And bitter medicine always do wonder than the sweet one."

Tenma gave him a look, "That's written in your medical book?"

Aphrodite smirked, "Nope!"

* * *

**China, Rozan**

Dohko walked up to the peak or Rozan, a place when he used to train when he was young other than around the great waterfall of Rozan. The peak was a beautiful place even in the heat of summer, flowing water in the river gleaming like diamond and lush green field. Dohko sat on a big rock near the river, relaxing his old muscles with a sigh. He chuckled softly when a flash of golden light appeared not far from his back, signaling the arrival of his companion.

"Aries Mu is here to report Roushi…" The Aries saint greeted the old Libra politely. "My apologize for the tardiness."

Dohko turned back to Mu, "Ah… you are just in time Mu, as expected of you really…"

Mu shook his head, "You came earlier than I was Roushi." He said with a smile. "Which means… I am late."

The old Libra had gleam of mischievousness on his eyes, "I came earlier and you in time Mu…" He pointed out cheerfully, "Ho ho ho ho ho!"

Mu sweat-dropped, here he was going again with the lame joke. "I see… erm… Roushi, there is something I think you have to know."

His expression hardened, wondering what the young gold saint wanted to say. "Is this about the mythology creature sighting in one of forest in China? I get a wind of that because it's near but I suspect it's not the only one…"

Mu nodded, then he took out an envelope that carved with seal of Taurus. "Aldebaran sent this to me, it's for you Roushi…"

Dohko opened the envelope then quickly scanned the neat writing in Greek alphabet. "Oh… unexpectedly they didn't keep us in the dark about the situation at all… " He said as looked up from the letter. "Twelve countries, and one of it have already taken care of."

The Aries saint nodded in agreement, "However… we are not informed of who was taking care of it, not even which country that already safe…" Mu muttered almost sounded annoyed, "even without Aldebaran wrote 'everything is under control and we don't have to worry nor feel a need to involve ourselves…" Mu trailed off, "It's the same as saying it's none of our business so don't stick our nose into it."

He raised an eyebrow at the younger saint, it was so unlike Mu to be so easily annoyed for some reason. "You are unhappy about something Mu?"

A sigh came from his lips, and then he replied. "Am I that transparent Roushi?"

Dohko shook his head, "For once you didn't bother to hide you are annoyed and unhappy." At flustered face of the young saint Dohko quickly added, "It's alright Mu… you can't be always the patient and genial Aries My all the time, be honest to what you feel is not wrong." Mu looked down in shame, he was not pleased to be seen through like that even if it was Roushi. "Now tell this old man, what displease you so?"

The Lemurian clamped his mouth shut, grumbling under his breath. "Nothing important Roushi…"

"Aries Mu…" Dohko warned the young blacksmith sternly. "Behave like a child your age for once, would you? Even I… this Libra Dohko didn't have half of your maturity when I was promoted to gold rank by the age of fifteen." He pointed out playfully, "Telling me what bothering you would please this old man greatly, I am after all wanted to help you as much as I could in your master's place.

Mu was taken back slightly at Roushi's word, he turned away to the left slightly, then back to his elder with a face that made the old Libra can't help but chuckling softly. For the very first time since his exile Aries Mu was sulking, he was biting his bottom lip, frowning deeply to the point the bridge of his nose wrinkled. "Roushi… may I say what's on my mind out loud just this once?"

The old Libra sighed, why Shion had to teach his disciple to be so rigid that even to speak one's mind out loud sounded inappropriate? "Nobody forbid you to do so Mu."

Aries Mu nodded then he took a deep breath, "I… feel that I am being left out by my fellow gold saints…" He admitted with blushing face.

"…"

"…"

"What do you mean you are being left out by other gold saints?" Dohko asked incredulously, "I am understand we lived far away from them but surely that's not what you mean, right Mu?"

Mu nodded sheepishly, "My friends… I know Shaka is simply beyond me now." He began to rant, something that was so out of character of him. "That and…"

"Mu… what do you mean beyond you?" Dohko wondered out loud.

For once the Aries saint kept rambling, ignoring the old Libra and behave like an Aries for once. "Since four years ago pretty much we establish we better of have nothing to do with each other for our own good, so I would like just waiting patiently… till everything end, Aiolia too… he seems fine these days and not many peoples are bothered with him being Aiolos' brother."

"He must be busy…" ROushi assured the young Aries, "It's a tough job to manage human resource in sanctuary."

"I know." Mu agreed, "But Aldebaran… he came once in a while, I really appreciate he came to say hello. But every time I tried to ask something along the line 'how is everyone now' he always answer they are fine and busy!" Mu muttered in annoyed tone, "I can tell! Aldebaran was hiding something from me!"

Roushi was well aware by now that Mu was piling up his frustration inside and he was about to explode. Not that the old saint could blame Mu since Aldebaran's letter was basically politely telling them what happened briefly and please don't interfere. Mu was displeased with the fact sanctuary wanted to keep them in the dark but in the same time didn't want to show that openly, and Aldebaran of all people agreed to do that to them.

"Mu…"

"It's my choice to isolate myself in Jamir, but… why all of my friends become so distant to me?"

"…"

"I mean it as if there is something they shared together in my absence! I felt isolated in every ways possible!" At this point tears started to pool on his eyes then he quickly wipe it. "I am sorry…" He said after he realized he had behaved so improperly in front of the old Libra. "To behave so…"

Dohko cut him in, "What did I say Mu?" At that Mu blushed deep red, stammering another apology. "In fact I am relieved I could see a little glimpse of the old you now, an innocent boy who years ago Shion took as his second disciple… so full of life and eager to learn. Tailing his master everywhere… "

At the last part Mu blushed deeper red. "I remembered that Roushi… it's embarrassing for me to be reminded of that." He admitted sheepishly.

Dohko nodded as laughing softly at the young Aries, "You were three years old Mu… it's not that embarrassing for a child that age to tail their parent figure." He assured Mu kindly. "And do you know? The proudest moment SHion and I have of you other than when you gained your cloth is… that time… when you are bravely and kindly offer your friendship to…" Dohko trailed off trying to find a correct way to phrase it. "Well… someone who when you were five considered scary, arrogant… or what Milo and DeathMask said that time? Creepy? Weirdo?"

Mu chuckled softly at that, "Shaka is not scary in my eyes that time… though I remember when he was four that time… he was angry enough to scare all of us to the point everyone but me, Saga and Aiolos fled." Suddenly the young Aries collapsed to the ground, paying no mind of his clothes became dirty for sitting on the ground. "That day was simply gold… how I wish… we could go back to that day."

"Mu… I am sorry to say this but we have to move on no matter what, and I of all people could understand your pain of the loss of joyful days in the past…" He muttered as laughter of his beloved brother Tenma and best friend Shion echoed on his mind. "And we have not lose our hope… haven't we?"

"Yes… we have not…" Mu answered as looked up to the blue sky that stretched to infinity, "But well… whatever that happened in sanctuary now, I am sure Shaka and Camus are in full control."

Dohko nodded in agreement, "It's nice to know those two seems capable of pulling the string." He muttered softly then titled his head to the side, "Though I can not comprehend what Shaka and Camus are up to and how it seems they have control on the fake pope."

Mu's expression hardened at the mentioning of his master's imposter, he would never get over it and if he was not a composed persona which so unlike an Aries, Mu was sure he would have wreck havoc for revenge. But the young saint knew better than putting his selfish desire before Athena and sanctuary.

"I already said this before though… it's obvious Camus also have found out about my master's death." Mu muttered with remorse sipped to his voice, "Knowing him Camus probably found out by himself or…" He trailed off unsurely, "Shaka told him… though…"

Mu paused, his lips pursed in disapproval. "Shaka would rather force himself to go through everything on his own rather than pulling our comrades in this. He is simply not a team person…" Mu chuckled softly, "I can imagine in holy war he will wander off on his own to underworld… considering the closest man to God is capable of it… "

Dohko then reminded of Asmita, and he couldn't forget his shock when Tenma informed him that Asmita had died for their sake. When all of his comrades ' death shocked and saddened him, Asmita's death was one that shocked him the most. It was just yesterday he talked with Hasgard about Asmita might became their enemy, and then few hours later Asmita passed by his temple claiming Tenma as an interesting person. When Dohko could be careless if Tenma was said as such, and he kind of agreed about that anyway. But for him to talk about he was about to die so casually was simply unnerving, even for a warrior like Dohko.

"Mu… I can say nothing about Shaka or what conspiracy is going now in sanctuary." Dohko admitted honestly with a tint of regret on his voice, "I am as insecure as you are about this." He paused, "But… the fateful day will come, when Athena will return to sanctuary and until then…"

Mu nodded hesitantly, "Until then… we will be waiting."

* * *

**Sanctuary**

Tenma was not happy when Shaka ruffled his hair gently; annoyance was painted all over his young face. The Pegasus saint crossed his arms on his chest, pouting at the older saint. Shaka ignored the pout and annoyed look as he patted Tenma's head, "Good job Tenma, so… aside from this revived ancient creature from mythology you also found that Shun Amamiya have enough potential to fill in position as Andromeda saint that has been empty for six centuries?" Shaka repeated again, that was a good enough reason to let Shun off of the hook if they had to terminate all Japanese trainee as a measure taken against Kido. Andromeda cloth after all even though just a bronze was one of special cloth among 88 saint cloth just like phoenix cloth with its generative ability or impenetrable shield of dragon cloth. Sadly since the age of myth saint who honored to wear these special cloth could be counted by one finger. "That's wonderful… so how about his cooperation regarding Kido and his company?"

The Pegasus saint rolled his eyes, "Ah about that…"

* * *

_Last night _

_Tenma sighed as he put his spoon back on the empty plate, smiling at Shun who stared at carrot on his plate. Normal people couldn't hear what Shun was mumbling about but Tenma could pick up Shun's mumbling about he would be stronger if he wasn't picky about food and eat his veggie. Tenma never knew what it feels to dislike some kind of food since… DeathMask would shove the food down his throat if he was picky. _

"_Shun…" Tenma called, "Just chew it and don't think about the taste, just think of something else…" _

_Shun nodded before ate a big piece of carrot, munching the said orange vegetable with closed eyes. "Hmm…mm…gulp!" Shun swallowed the carrot then coughed violently, "Cough! Cough!" Tenma handed him a cup of water made of clay, the future Andromeda saint gulped the water then shyly thanked the Pegasus saint. _

"_Ha ha ha… you shouldn't eat too quickly Shun! It might end up in the wrong place!" Tenma laughed in which made Shun blushed redder. _

_Tenma narrowed his eyes at Shun who was oblivious of what was going on his friend's mind. Tenma felt guilty for trying to use Shun at any rate, granted it was for Shun's own good. If whatever happened and Sanctuary decided to take drastic measure upon Japanese trainees, whether it would be a lenient or cruel one, at least Shun would be spared. He was sure gold saints won't treat Japanese trainees unfairly for what their father did. But then again they were no God, and not all authority was fully within their grasp. Tenma as candidate learned it for a long time that there was fraction in sanctuary that didn't approve Gold saints to be involved in politics aside from their position in sanctuary as military force._

* * *

_Gigas whose family had served as chief of sanctuary since age of myth was the one who oppose Gold saint's involvement the most since he almost had no authority in sanctuary due to all positions were filled by Gold saints. His clan even though had been trusted by sanctuary for years had lost the said trust in Shion's era, due Gigas' father himself requested Shion to not trust his family. Phobos was ashamed to admit it but younger generation of his family were corrupted by greed of power, and as the only one who was still loyal to Athena, he requested the old Pope to bestow all politic post to Gold saints. _

_Shion was reluctant to do so due to the new generation of Gold saints were so young, and they were not ready. Not to mention burden as gold saints alone was already too much for them. But after constant plea from his trusted advisor Shion reluctantly gave his young gold saints education in politics, after Phobos passed away Gigas inherited the position as clan head with his nephew Phaeton as his second in command. Shion had politely refused Gigas when the man offered his service for sanctuary with a reason; it was his father's wish for his clan to not involve themselves in sanctuary's affair any longer. That there was no longer any place for commoner in sanctuary's internal affair, in which saints had full control of their affair. _

_When tragedy seven years ago occurred, Gigas thought it was a chance for his family to regain their power in sanctuary as it proved Gold saints were not to be trusted fully by the Pope, much to Gigas' disappointment the Pope (Saga) refused his offer. Gigas didn't back down without a fight but all gold saints and the Pope claimed they could handle their own affair, and what happened in the past was something they could learn from and that's all in it. At first Gigas thought Gold saints were all kids with super-human power so they wouldn't be interested in managing delicate affair of their rank but much to his shock, all gold saints… those super powered brat didn't complain and did a good job. All that left for Gigas was only to supervise without able to meddle on it, and the diamond eyed man knew Gold saints only let him to know what they allowed him to know. _

_Tenma didn't like Gigas, and of all people the Pegasus saint was well aware Gigas hated him more than Shaka and Camus who always kept the man at bay. Tenma was errand boy of Gold saints; at least he was in public eyes though actually Tenma had his share on managing sanctuary's affair more than Gigas knew. And when it came to Kido's sons the last person they should allowed to know about this was Gigas, Tenma and all gold saints knew they would be in a very difficult position if Gigas knew this. After all… like it or not Aiolia and Milo had to admit it was mistake on their part to allow someone who might mean harm to infiltrate their rank, and they couldn't have Gigas to shake public trust on them. If this came out they had no choice but eliminate the threat, which might result in drastic measure of killing all Japanese trainees, the last thing they wanted to do. Athena would never approve of that! _

_With that on his mind Tenma approached Shun who was patting their mattress then unfolded the brown thick blanket that was a little tattered but usable. "Shun…" Tenma called as he hopped on the bed, sitting on lotus position in front on Shun. "I need to talk to you." _

_Shun titled his head to the side, he was confused of why Tenma made that kind of face. He had saw Tenma spoke with that face to Daidalos before following him to his hut, and his master of all people bowed to Tenma. The green haired boy knew Tenma was bronze saint although in the same time he was also gold saint candidate who ranked higher than Daidalos, but most of the time since he met the Pegasus saint, Tenma treated Daidalos back and forth from his equal to superior. _

_Shun was snapped out of his thought when Tenma called him once again, "Shun? Are you listening?" Tenma asked sternly. _

_Shun flinched since Tenma used similar tone Daidalos used when he scolded his disciple sternly. So he stammered an apology. "I am sorry Tenma…" He paused, "I didn't… listen." _

_The Andromeda saint felt like crying when he saw Tenma's expression hardened then turned away from him. Shun flinched when from his profile Tenma rolled his eyes to him, "Shun…" Tenma began, "I am sorry if I scare you… I am just a bit tense, I am not angry at you or anything." _

_The Japanese boy relaxed at that but soon tensed again, "But it's okay if Tenma is angry at me! I didn't pay attention when my superior… which is you… talking to me! I am… "_

_Tenma raised his hand, "Shun… I won't deny I was angry though not to you… " He admitted sheepishly then smiled when saw Shun's shoulder fell as sighing in relieve. "There is no need for you to treat me like a superior when it's just you and me Shun. It's simply not to my liking when we are friends and all." _

_Shun beamed at that, and then he asked innocently. "Who are you angry at Tenma? Did someone being mean to you?" _

_And before he could stop himself Tenma opened his mouth again. "It's just… tiring Shun, and stress is piling up without end because of that crone and his lackey…" Tenma clasped his hands on his mouth horrified he had let his mouth loose around a trainee. "Forget what I said!" He yelped in panic. _

_Shun looked at Tenma's troubled expression, giving the brown haired saint a look. "You can't tell me what is bothering you?" _

_Tenma shook his head, "Err… nope." _

"_I am your friend!" Shun pointed out, "Can I at least know a little? Not in detail? Brother said if you telling people your problem especially your friend… it would help! At least a little!" _

_Tenma stared at Shun, "But…" _

"_You don't believe I can help you?" Shun asked with hurt clearly painted on his face. _

_The Pegasus saint felt his defense crumbled at face Shun made at him. Was that face even legal? Not even his puppy face could match Shun's! "I get it! Okay!" Tenma groaned, at the very least telling Shun a little would make their conversation regarding Kido easier. "For a start, let's say unlike what most people think sanctuary just like a small country with all politic mumbo jumbo and not just an army with super power." _

_Shun blinked, "Erm… Tatsumi did say sanctuary is like an army and Pope is the leader." _

_Tenma sighed, "Shun… what did this Tatsumi or Mr. Kido told you about us?" Now they also had to be concerned about how screwed these boys' opinion about them, when it was not a big problem it would be in the future if they had no idea what sanctuary would do if they acted on their own and ignoring sanctuary's ethic code. _

_The future Andromeda saint looked thoughtful for a moment then shrugged, "Uhm… only sanctuary is a military organization that led by Athena and the Pope?" _

_Tenma groaned, "Oh well… anyway, did anyone tell you that once you entered our rank… your life is Athena's and sanctuary?" _

_In response to that question Shun blinked, "Eh?" _

"_Shun… I won't deny the closest thing out there that can describe sanctuary would be military organization." Tenma explained loftily, deep inside Tenma wondered if this was karma for yawning every time Shura explained law of sanctuary to him so he had to repeat Shura's lecture. "However… saint is not an occupation Shun, it's… a life…"_

"…"

"_Saint dedicated their life for Athena, to fight by her side… it's not a job Shun." Tenma continued sternly and the Japanese boy could feel Tenma was serious, more than ever as he felt those brown orbs piercing his. _

_Shun opened his mouth to reply but his throat felt dry and he was getting nervous, he gulped nervously then began to speak. "Why you tell me this now, Tenma?" _

_Tenma narrowed his eyes, "Will you obey me without questioning why I ask this from you?" His voice was calm yet sounded thundering on Shun's eardrums. "If you have chosen to live your life as a saint."_

_Green orbs widened, backing away in reflex until his back pasted to the wall. Shun was not frightened of Tenma, he knew Tenma would never harm him. The Pegasus saint was so kind to him, and Shun wouldn't believe Tenma was capable of harming innocent even if he could. But there was overwhelming feeling coming from the bronze saint, reminding Shun that Tenma was nothing like him despite of they were in the same age. Tenma was a full-pledged saint of Athena, and he was a fresh trainee. _

"_I… want to be saint of Athena…" He muttered softly, "I…" _

_Tenma needed just that, "Shun… from now on you have to report all contact Kido make with you, no matter how small. "He trailed off, "It's not a request." Tenma bit his lower lip, he couldn't bring himself to say that the moment they knew Kido's intention, sanctuary had all reason they needed to not only banned all Japanese trainees but also eliminate them. It was harsh but… "It's an order from your superior. And also… whatever instruction he gave you, it would be up to us whether or not you should comply."_

_Shun's eyes widened as he had been told to not mention that instruction until they were on the verge of gaining their cloth. "I… but…" But he had no choice, as that was the only choice he had to reunite with Ikki and his friends. _

"_I don't like to force you but…" Tenma trailed off, "Once you entered our rank you belong to Athena and sanctuary, and NOT Kido's. You don't listen to him anymore, you listen to us… your superior and Athena." _

_Shun yelped, "But… Tenma, I…" He tried to explain._

_Tenma cut him off, "It doesn't matter why you obey Kido's instruction, it didn't change the fact you listen to an outsider's and not sanctuary and Athena." The Pegasus saint muttered tiredly, "I am sorry… but you simply have no choice."_

_Shun's eyes widened at Tenma's statement for a moment, "Ah… " _

_Tenma had no intention to tell Shun that their life was hanging on a very fine string though not as fine as hair, "Don't be too alarmed, it's simply safety measure as this is the first time we let an outsider like Kido involved with us. That… and also for political reason that would risk us doing something low and scar us for life." Added one of many reasons they would stop that low (killing children) was to save their hide from Gigas, they would sooner bled themselves to death for their cloth as atonement to Athena. One of these days Shaka and Camus should take DeathMask's long outstanding offer to get rid of that bastard Gigas._

_Nah… but thanks to Gigas' indiscreet sarcasm in every chance he had when commenting about their decision, it became a public knowledge Gold saints despised the diamond eyed man with passion. It would be simply stupid if they let DeathMask kick Gigas' ass-soul to the pit of Yomotsuhirasaka. _

"_Shun… if I could, I will never order something that might risk your safety at any rate but…" _

"_I will do it." Shun cut him off, and Tenma's eyes widened in response. "I will do as you said Tenma, and you don't have to tell me why… I trust you." _

_Tenma blinked, "You do?" _

_Shun smiled at him, "You trust me Tenma… that's why you ask this from me even though you said it's an order." Shun closed his eyes, "And even though we just met few days ago I know… I can trust you even with my life." _

"…"

"_Tenma?" _

_Corner of his lips twitched, muffled laugh slowly escaped his lips and soon became full blown laughter. "Ha ha ha ha… Shun… you really…"_

_Shun blushed deep red, wondering if he had said something embarrassing. "Tenma!" _

"_Amazing…" Tenma finished. _

_The Japanese boy blinked, "Eh?" _

"_And impossible…" _

"_Huh?"_

"_Never mind what I said Shun… and thank you, it means a lot for me." Tenma muttered with a smile as sneaked under the tattered blanked before Shun could blink, "Good night." _

_Shun blinked in confusion, "Tenma?" _

"_Mmh….zzzz…" _

"_I don't get it." _

"…_zzz…" _

"_And how you can fell asleep so fast?" Shun wondered out loud since it was less than one second since Tenma's head hit the pillow._

* * *

End of flashback

"Shun obeyed our order willingly without question…" Tenma finished, "And that's another good reason to keep him in our rank…"

"Yes… yes…" Shaka smiled patronizingly, "That and how Andromeda seems to like Shun, which mean no doubt that boy will claim the cloth in the future." He titled his head to the side, "There is nothing to worry about your new friend Tenma, and he has secured his position in our rank after all…"

Tenma paused, "New friend?" Why it sounded unfit to describe Shun as such? Tenma sped up his pace, "I am not worried Shaka… we would be a fool to ignore Shun's potential, I never saw someone synchronized to that extend with their constellation in only few months after introduction." Tenma muttered as he recalled how intense and bright Shun's cosmos orb was.

"Tenma… weren't you just the same?" Shaka asked in amused tone, though it was understandable in Tenma's case as he was the only human Pegasus cloth would approve.

"Hn."

Shaka sighed, "Something in your mind?"

Tenma shook his head, "Never mind…"

* * *

**Siberia**

Camus and Hyoga were doing impressive glaring show at Isaac who once again submit in sitting on the floor with folded legs, and the said legs was screaming and begging to be straightened the buzzing and cracking sound Isaac heard from his legs was not just him being dramatic.

"Isaac…" Camus began, "You are the future saint of Athena, a saint of ice and you got lost in snowfield?" He asked in disbelief but due to passive voice, Camus came as summarizing the irony.

Isaac rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Well… everything is white, and all looks the same to me!"

Hyoga groaned, "If I was you, I would learn to recognize landmark around our training ground before I could trust myself to go farther than one hundred meters from out hut." He paused then groaned loader, "But seriously! If we was late even one second who knows where your friends would take you to!"

Camus usually would not allow fellow trainee to join in lecturing a trainee, but after all trouble Hyouga had been through today on his search for Isaac, Hyoga deserved to scold Isaac at least that much. "Hyoga is right… and Isaac, you will be punished."

Isaac cringed at that, "What is the punishment?"

"You will see…" Crystal swore he saw a glint of amusement on his master's eyes.

* * *

**Sicily, Italia **

Moon was as round as usual, Asterion thought in a daze as looking at satellite of earth. The chilly air was not refreshing at all and if anything Hound Asterion and Cerberus Dante were having difficulties of breathing as they trudged right behind Capricorn Shura, though the problem was more on their mind that stressed under Shura's intimidating aura that oozed since the start of the mission. Asterion and Dante were not really fond of talking but the silence had been suffocating, and Shura showed no sign of interest to begin the conversation. And the forest looked spookier and creepier the deeper they walked into it.

Dante gulped then began to talk nervously, "Lord Shura…" He called, "Where we should began our search?"

Shura titled his head to the side so the silver saints could see the profile of his face, "High ground… preferably rocky hill." Then turned his attention back to the road ahead.

Asterion quickly joined the conversation, if he didn't the conversation will end at that! "Why? If I may know?"

Shura raised his head then turned to the nearest rocky hill on the sight, "According to old myth… Harpy was nesting in that kind of area."

Dante turned to Asterion, "But would they do the same now?"

Shura sighed, "It's been days since they are sighted in here, I doubt they wouldn't make any nest… and what else we have that could lead to them?"

"We can't track down their cosmos?" Asterion asked curiously.

"You do realize that is what I am doing now?" Shura asked tonelessly.

…

…

"EH?"

Shura raised an eyebrow, "I have asked Jamian about Harpy's cosmos, it's bigger than average human but not massive enough to stand up but… in wilderness like this…" Shura shrugged, "Not that hard I suppose… "

"But Lord Shura…" Asterion began nervously, "Why you didn't tell us?"

Shura looked at him, "You did not ask Jamian anything?"

Dante and Asterion suddenly had sinking feeling they had asked a wrong question, "No?"

The Capricorn saint crossed his arms on his chest, his eyes narrowed dangerously at Dante and Asterion. "Hound Asterion… I assume a silver saint such as yourself have enough consciousness as one to know it's necessary to prepare yourself in a mission, and asking information beforehand from your comrade is common sense as a saint."

"Bu… but…" Asterion stammered.

"And Cerberus Dante…" Shura turned to the Italian saint, "You didn't ask either from me or Asterion, therefore I assumed you have been informed but…" He paused, "You are just as ignorant as Asterion."

"I… I… "

Shura crackled his knuckle, "I will not press this any further for now, but prepare yourselves after this mission is over." He hissed dangerously, "It would do Athena no good if I didn't make you learn something after this."

And so… Asterion and Dante regretted they ever opened their mouth, even more than ignorance of theirs Shura said. Maybe this mission would be so better if they kept their mouth shut.

"But for now…" Shura trailed off as his right hand rose, "Excalibur!"

Asterion and Dante yelped as Excalibur dashed right between them and deafening scream echoed on the air. Dante and Asterion looked back and gasped in horror when they saw a giant bird with humanoid body from waist up screaming in agony as rolling on the ground, deep gash marred its body from left shoulder to feathery right tight.

"I know my guess is right…" Shura muttered tonelessly but there was hint of satisfaction and proud mixed on his voice, "Flaring my cosmos is a right choice, they came to us like moth to the flame…"

The silver saints at once alarmed at sudden spark of numerous cosmos on their surrounding and from the shadow of forest pairs of gleaming ruby orbs stared hungrily at them. "Since when?" Dante yelped, his grip on Cerberus chain tightened.

Asterion was holding his forehead, frowning in annoyance. "I can hear it… their mind…"

_**Hungry… **_

_**Meat… **_

_**Large cosmos… delicious… **_

At the last one he heard, the hound saint turned to Shura, "Lord Shura… don't tell me… for them, human with large cosmos is delicious?" He asked nervously.

Shura shrugged, "They said that?" The Capricorn saint asked back. "Another right guess…"

"Huh?"

"I thought it was weird they came after Jamian who happened to pass by." Shura crackled his knuckle as his eyes locked to their enemies, daring them to move. "I assume they might be capable to track cosmos, and if that is the case… another question come to mind." Shura continued his explanation calmly then approached the rest of his team, the silver saint didn't waste any time to form a formation where they could guard each other's back.

Asterion nodded as the explanation sunk, "Why they approached Jamian who undoubtedly stronger than their normal prey?"

Dante snorted at that, "Jamian might be not much of a fighter but he still is a silver saint and surely would put better fight than normal human."

"They seems capable of suppressing their cosmos too…" Asterion noted as gritting his teeth, "No wonder Jamian was caught off guard."

Shura rolled his eyes to his first prey, a harpy that hovered few feet above the ground right before him. "For them we are rare prey that worth for them to fight on."

Dante turned to Asterion, "So we are premium rare meat for them?"

"Why don't you ask them that yourself?" Asterion replied smugly.

Shura cleared his throat, calling attention from the silver saints. "So which one Asterion?"

The hound saint blinked at his superior, "Err… pardon Lord Shura?"

Shura sighed, "Which one you think is the smartest one? Pick one." The gold saint muttered tiredly, "We are going to interrogate one of them."

"Oh…" Asterion rubbed his head sheepishly, "Err… "

'_**Hungry… ' **_

'_**The one in gold armor must be the tastiest… slurp!' **_

'_**I want his leg!' **_

'_**Guts…. I want some guts…" **_

Asterion felt like he was about to throw up at the disgusting thought of hoard of harpies around them, especially when the subject was which part of his body would be the tastiest. To be honest with this level of intelligence Asterion doubted there would be any that a lot smarter than the rest and therefore perfect for interrogation. Then again order was an order, so he combed through minds of the harpies and then his head snapped to his left, his eyes locked to the harpies that perched on a laurel tree. It was smaller than the rest with long ebony hair, and didn't stand out. It blended well with the darkness and looking at them with calculating yet hungry look.

Asterion concentrated on his target smirking when he heard it, **'The gold one… the rest would fight over that human for sure. I will wait till that human killed and when the rest of the flock fight over it and I will snatch the delicious human…'**

The Danish saint grinned wider, "Bingo!" He knew choosing the smart one was also risky because it might try to trick them, but in another hand this harpy might be the only one that would be bothered to be concerned of their resurrection and brainy enough to remember what happened to them. "Lord Shura… Dante… I find a perfect target."

Shura rolled his eyes to Asterion, "Which one? Make sure you point it out clearly so we would not accidentally kill it later."

"Northeast… around thirty feet from here, it's smaller than the rest. It's perching on a Laurel tree near that big pine tree." Asterion said as pointed his forefinger to their target, "We don't have to worry about that my lord… " He assured the gold saint. "Apparently this lady have enough brain to think of snatching delicious meat after letting her friends fighting first."

Dante laughed at that, "Wow… a cunning lady huh?"

The gold saint ignored Dante's comment, "Well then… I think we don't have to worry about it killed accidentally." Shura said as his right hand rose, "Dante… don't let your eyes off of our target."

"Yes my lord!" They chorused.

Shura turned his attention to their target, "Thirsty feet huh… in that case…" His hand glowed in golden light. "EXCALIBUR!" Instead of one blade of cosmos, Excalibur was launched in shape of net, slashing through everything on its path and disappeared right before it reached the small harpy they targeted.

It froze when scenery before her painted with crimson red of blood, it's wings fluttered helplessly as one by one of it's flock fell to the ground. "Dante! Get it!"

It shrieked when a chain with spiked ball end wrapped its body and then fell from the branch it perched on. Shura gave another order to his subordinate, "Dante! Asterion! Guard it! I will finish the rest of them now!"

Dante and Asterion didn't bother to answer back as they quickly ran to their prisoner, and even if they didn't turned back they could tell from choir of shrieking scream that on their back was scenery of bloody drama. And the knight who stood in the middle of bloody corpse, not even a drop of blood tainted the glimmer of his golden cloth. Their mission had been completed in a blink of an eye; it was no surprise for the silver saint as after all… who could expect less from a gold saint?

"Hn." Shura grunted as unwrapped his mantle from his arm.

* * *

**Sanctuary **

"So?" Tenma closed his eyes slowly.

"Hm?"

The Pegasus saint sighed, opening his eyes and rolled it to the older saint. "I know you better than that Shaka, SO what is it?"

Looking down at the boy, his lips curved up with mirth. "Hasty aren't we?"

Tenma grumbled, "Accompanying me all the way to 12 temple entrance, why would you... Virgo Shaka does so?" He wondered out loud, and then he paled. "Wait! Don't tell me there is no hidden intention! Because if not I will haul you to Dite for a check up!"

"Tenma..." Shaka warned.

Tenma grinned innocently, "So? What is it again?"

Shaka hummed, "Your first mission is already decided."

"About damn time." Tenma muttered in low tone, "AWW!" He yelped when Shaka pinched his left cheek, "Sorry! Sorry! I will mind my language!"

The Virgo saint sighed, "You spent too much time with DeathMask and Milo..." He concluded.

Tenma rubbed his swollen cheek that throbbing painfully, "Whatever... anyway, have you dispatched someone to keep an eye on Kido?"

Shaka shook his head, "No, we have not... "

"How come?" Tenma asked curiously.

The young Indian sighed, "I can't explain to you for now Tenma... but let's say this case is very delicate." Because if worse come to worse, Saga might get the wind about Athena was in Kido's care and lose all control he had upon his body.

Shaka had learned Saga's multiple personality disorder for years, and when at first he thought it was possible to dive to Saga's astral world and get rid of evil darkness on his heart, Shaka came to painful conclusion afterward that the evil was rooting on Saga's heart strongly and spreading like cancer inside a body. He and Camus had researched about history of Gemini saint and also whatever they could find in multiple personality and the result was disappointing. Gemini saint always regarded through generation as virtuous and compassionate saint but at one point tragedy would befall the said saints.

It was not clear what happened to them but mostly said they were replaced by their twins(if they had any but it seems most of them are twins) after killed in action, some went insane then either banned from their rank or killed, suicide after long years of service, and so on. Camus as a physician was skeptical to see these story as probably possible at best, and he was suspicious most records were fabricated though not completely erased and off record like Pegasus saint. Shaka agreed with Camus, and come to conclusion that...

Saga couldn't be saved by human power...

Therefore...

Athena, their goddess undoubtedly could do something about Saga. Camus and Shaka also had learned about Aegis shield power, and thought the said shield would be the solution. But the said shield would not working if Athena was not involved, meaning if the goddess was in no dire need of the shield or having it on her command it would be futile. It was a giant rock stuck on their giant Athena statue and nothing else unless Athena wills it.

The thought this goddess they put all their hope on was under guardianship of a Japanese billionaire was not settling at all, since what Kido could do against Saga? Sanctuary prospered in the last few years on their hand, and much to their horror the fact sanctuary was not as holy as they thought surfaced since gold saint involved themselves in sanctuary affairs. There was dark conspiracy that rooted in sanctuary rank that Shaka doubted even Pope SHion knew most of it, and it was possible Hades' lackey was involved. One wrong move and information about Athena and Kido leaked to the surface…

Shaka gritted his teeth at the thought, that didn't went unnoticed by Tenma who sighed. "I won't ask… "

"Thank you…"

"Shaka…" Tenma called him, eyes closed briefly. "I trust you… we trust you, that's why…" The Pegasus saint muttered softly, "No matter how much secret you hide from us, deep down we knew you did it for our sake."

"Hm…"

Tenma chuckled softly, "That's why… we will do as you and Camus say, despite of not knowing the reason."

Shaka titled his head to the side, "Is that so? From who you quote that?"

Tenma shrugged, "I don't have to quote anyone as that is what I feel but…" Shaka stared with closed eyes at him, "Okay but it's ALdebaran who said it first."

The Virgo saint became quiet, he expected that from Aldebaran but still… knowing the Taurus saint really thought of him like that was painful. He never gave any reason to Aldebaran about keeping secret from Mu about Tenma and sanctuary affair, and Shaka knew that pained Aldebaran greatly to do that to Mu and the only reason he did that was his trust on Shaka.

"I see…" Shaka muttered softly, "Well then Tenma, your mission would be the day after tomorrow."

"HUH?" Tenma's eyes widened, "So soon?"

"Yes… so finish whatever business you have in Andromeda Island by tomorrow." Shaka said as shrugged.

"And?" Tenma pushed on.

"What?"

Tenma raised an eyebrow, "No details about my mission?"

"Later." Shaka waved dismissively.

Tenma narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "You are hiding something."

"Yeah…" Shaka admitted as his pace quickened, leaving the gawking Pegasus saint behind.

"HEY!" Tenma shouted as running after the Virgo saint, "SHAKA!"

* * *

**Somalia, Andromeda Island**

When Tenma thankfully teleported back to Andromeda Island without problem, the islanders of Andromeda were just finished their dinner, the poor trainees jumped out of shock when Tenma appeared right behind Shun. And off course since he had his back on Tenma, Shun was the only one who didn't jump. The green haired boy turned around, his smiled widened at the sight of his friend.

"TENMAAA!" Shun squealed then when he was about to tackle (read hug) the Pegasus saint he almost ran to big carton box Tenma had on his hands. "Aare….?" Shun blinked at the box then turned his attention to Tenma's face, in which 'I am pissed' written all over.

Shun's ears perked up when Daidalos greeted their newcomers. "Ah… Orphee? I didn't expect you of all people would escort Tenma back here."

The future Andromeda saint turned to his left, he didn't notice the Lyra saint before since he was too relieved to have Tenma back and well. He had been worried about Tenma since the Pegasus saint left their Island, and even though Daidalos assured him that Tenma didn't get even a scratch from the battle. He looked up to saint his master called Orphee, bowed in reflex when he saw the silver saint smiled at him. Lyra Orphee was a teenager with aquamarine hair and eyes, his face was fair and seemed to exude gentleness even thought he suppose to be a warrior.

Leda and Spica jumped from the rock they sat on, their attention focused on the Lyra saint. "Ah! Lord Orphee! Long time no see!" They greeted him in chorus.

Shun looked over Tenma's shoulder, his green eyes looking at Orphee curiously. "Lord Orphee?"

Orphee turned to Daidalos, smiling at the Cepheus saint. "Good evening Daidalos, glad to see you again since the convention." Then he turned to Shun who he noted somehow had took refugee behind Tenma, looking at him nervously. "Ah… the fourth disciple of yours Daidalos?" At Daidalos nod, Orphee laughed at him. "It seems my worries years ago when you assigned to be in charge of Andromeda Island is for nothing…"

Daidalos shrugged at that, "Yeah yeah… laugh it to your heart content Orphee, you think it's funny that I am not brooding like you thought I would for getting stuck in a training ground for teaching." Then Daidalos waved his hand, "After five years teaching, even a saint who was active in their younger days like me would learn to love it. And my disciples are never less than dedicated and adorable trainees I can't help but love dearly."

June squealed, no doubt beneath that mask she was blushing. "Aww Master Daidalos! You are so sweet!"

Spica and Leda had another opinion. "Thanks! But do you have to be so cheesy Master?" Spica wondered out loud.

"Yeah!" Leda muttered as scratched his back.

Daidalos ignored his boys' comment, "By the way… why you seems so upset Tenma?"

Tenma's face darkened, and spark of cosmos erupted menacingly that everyone but Shun inched away from Tenma. "Damn mother-hen…" Tenma hissed.

Orphee chuckled nervously, "Er… you don't have to be so annoyed Tenma, it's nothing big."

"Yeah…" Tenma agreed with a nod, "I am not annoyed." He stated tonelessly, "Just royally pissed."

The Lyra saint sweat-dropped at that, "Duh…"

Daidalos raised an eyebrow, "What's going on?"

Tenma grumbled, "Don't want to talk about it. Ask Orphee…"

Tenma began his cursing to Heaven, which Daidalos didn't bother to say anything since Tenma was cursing in Italian. He could guess why the Pegasus saint cursed in Italian; he didn't have to be a Sherlock to guess. "Orphee?"

Orphee scratched his head sheepishly; "Tenma will get a chaperone for his first mission." He explained with a sigh.

"I see…" Cepheus nodded, he would brood too if that happened to him. First mission for a saint was a special ritual, and to have chaperone with you was just downright embarrassing. A teammate was fine but not chaperone, it usually would be higher ranked saint who would not contribute in mission but will keep an eye in case something wrong. "Then the box…"

Tenma rolled his eyes, "Paperwork…"

"Ah…"

Orphee put down the box on the ground carefully, "Anyway… since Tenma manage to land safely and not on the water…" He trailed off, and Tenma groaned at that. "I will go back to sanctuary, I have an appointment with our Pope and gold saints."

Daidalos chuckled at that, "Ah… so our great musician is about to have his grand performance tonight?" He asked jokingly.

"Yeah… wish me luck…" Orphee replied with a smile then turned to Shun, rummaging his pocket then pulled a white wrapped. "Here… a little present for our first meeting." He said as dropped the candy to Shun's hand.

Shun smiled shyly at the silver saint, "Thank you Lord Orphee…"

"You are welcome." Then he waved his hand, "See you again later…" And in a blink of an eye the blue haired saint was gone.

Tenma grunted, "Aah… so troublesome, and my gut feeling is not good either…"

"Huh?" Shun blinked, "Tenma, you are talking weird stuff."

"Because I am feeling weird…" Tenma answered honestly. "It would be nice if my gut is wrong once in a while~" Then silently thought, '_Then again with Aiolia and Milo scheduled to work together unsupervised for days before I left, it would be no surprise if they landed on Dite's infirmary when I return. Courtesy of their 'killing each other' routine…"_

* * *

**Next Morning (Sanctuary)**

Misty stared at hissing Harpy, chain wrapped around its wings and body tightly. They had attempted to convince it to talk; presuming harpy is capable of speaking. But all they heard from the Harpy was shrieking scream, hiss, and sound of gritting teeth. Misty almost felt bad for treating the monstrous half bird like this, since it looked so pitiful and the face even though ugly looked human enough to make him feel like torturing a woman.

Ah… he was too compassionate~

Asterion entered the room, startled when he saw Misty sitting on the ground as clenching his chest, added he had this dramatic pained face as muttering poetic words that made even the harpy stopped squirming and stared at the blond saint.

"Aaah…" Misty moaned.

Asterion raised an eyebrow, "What's going on here?" Then he paused, "On second thought… I don't want to know."

"Ah!" Misty stood up then greeted his fellow silver saint, ignoring his odd stare. "Hi Aste! So have you guys figured it out?" He asked curiously, "How is the meeting with Lord Shaka? Good?" Misty paused when he saw depressed look on the physic's face. "Err… no good huh?"

Asterion looked dejected as he turned his back on Misty, one of his hands leaning against the wall as he looked down to the floor. "I spent the whole night trying to read this harpy's mind and when I report my finding to Lord Shaka… "

**Flashback**

_Asterion stepped back as a frown settled on Shaka's eyebrow, it as if the Virgo saint was staring at him menacingly. "I already know ancient sorcery was involved and also about the culprit is probably a woman, therefore a witch." Shaka stated calmly, "What I need to know is who? And what is the purpose of this madness…" _

_The silver saint stammered, "But Lord Shaka! This harpy barely remember when it was resurrected… the memory is so blurry that I…" _

"_Enough…" Shaka cut him in, "Asterion you may go and keep an eye on our prisoner, I will dive to her mind later… and that's it." _

"_Bu… but…" _

_Shaka shook his head, ignoring the silver saint's stammering. "Shura already told me about your performance on the mission." Asterion paled at that, "And I hope you have enough conscience to try harder next time." _

"_Yes…" Asterion looked down in shame, "Lord Shaka." _

**End of Flashback **

"Ouch…" Misty cringed at the story, "That's… surely hurt your pride and dignity." He commented tonelessly.

Asterion at this point had rested his forehead against the wall, and a small rainy gray cloud hovered above him. "Not really, I always know Lord Shaka is superior compared to me… I am just depressed to get shot down by Lord Shura and Lord Shaka in less than 24 hours."

Misty rolled his eyes, "Well… those two are always strict to us."

"**Hissssss! ARGH! Graaah!" **

The Lacerta saint turned back to the harpy who once again began to its/her screaming routine. "Hey lady… can you please be quiet? Screaming is not helping you and if anything you are polluting the air… your mouth smells bad."

"**GRAAH!" **

Misty nodded in agreement as he self-interpret what the Harpy was screaming at him, "Yeah it's not your fault that you haven't bathed for days, but I can't exactly bring you to our bathroom… or any river." He explained with his hand on his hip, "Lord Aphrodite would not be happy if I bring feathery creature like you to our water source, it's not hygienic… "

The harpy titled its head to the side in confusion, and then snapped at Misty. "Argh! Shraa…..hh… "

"Um… maybe I can try using long hose or simply bring a bucket…" Misty nodded in satisfaction, "Yeah… I think I can do that for you…"

"Misty…" Asterion called him.

"Hm?"

"As amusing as it is, you are suck at translating Harpy's shriek." He stated lazily, "And… this harpy actually shrieking about ripping your head off."

Misty shot him a look. "Is that so?"

Asterion shrugged, "That and chewing your guts…"

…

"Whatever… I will still bring water hose over here… " He muttered sweetly, "How kind of me…"

Asterion rolled his eyes, "You definitely want revenge… your intention is obvious."

"I am not trying to hide it anyway…" Misty admitted with a grin.

* * *

**Siberia**

Hyoga nursed the cup of water of his hand, concentrating his cosmos to the liquid. It was the first step of mastering ice-based cosmos, signature of Siberia training ground. The cup was made of clay that infused with cosmos, so unless using cosmos the temperature within the cup wouldn't change. Hyoga's task was to control atom within the water with his cosmos. Unlike other type of cosmos that needed only basic understanding and proper physical training, cold cosmos require advanced knowledge of science. Compared to other type of elemental cosmos, Camus as the one in charge of today's training described their technique as delicate and refined. Their cold cosmos affected their surrounding; one wrong move might cost them dearly.

"_You might have heard some people can use cosmos even though they have zero understanding of the concept." Camus explained tonelessly, "You can achieve that much purely with instinct, however… elemental based cosmos is different." _

Hyoga opened his blue eyes slowly, a small smile painted on his lips as thin layer of ice formed on the water surface. "Looks good… yosh… "He closed his eyes again, "One more time… "

"Aww… man…" Hyoga ignored pained moan he heard from below.

"_I am sure you also know the difference of atom structure of liquid and solid substance… I will not bore you with big words as you children put it. I knew it's a waste of time…" Camus stated somewhat annoyed, image of certain Scorpio saint floated on his mind. "In solid the atom packed very tight, from solid to liquid to gas… the atoms become less packed. Have I use terms that simple enough?" Even so Camus seemed didn't ask the last question to Hyoga, the boy was aware Camus knew he could take less simple term of explanation. And as for why Camus bother to simplify his explanation to the point it could be titled 'Cosmos and Atom for Dummies' Hyoga thought Camus would prefer to keep the reason for himself. _

Compress…

"Ugh… so sore…" Isaac moaned.

Hyoga chanted on his mind again and again as he imagined compressing many kind of materials, clay, sand, crumpling paper, etc. He was still experimenting with his control and his body still learning the sensation of cosmos. "Hm…"

Isaac looked up to Hyoga, "You are heavier that you look!" He commented with another groan as nursing the cup on his lap.

Hyoga glared at the older boy, "Excuse me? You are the biggest eater in our houselast time I checked!" He reminded Isaac as huffing in annoyance, "And do you think I am happy up here? You are the worse chair I ever sat on!"

The half-Russian was sitting on Isaac's shoulder, his legs folded around Isaac's neck then tightened and the older boy choked. "Hyo… hyo… ga… I need…. Air…" He stammered as holding Hyoga's legs, but unable to pry his neck off of Hyoga.

But thankfully Hyoga loosened his hold; "I am up here because Master Camus told me to practice here, not because I want to!" He groaned, "It's all your fault I am dragged to your punishment!" He glared when Isaac was about to whine, "Stop moving! Do you know moving your butt too much when sitting with folded legs…"

Isaac suddenly went rigid as he felt the electric shock shot up from his legs, "Aaaw…" He moaned weakly, this pain was even worse that frostbite!

Crystal approached them behind nervously; on each of his hands was a bucket of water. "Erm… you know boys, I am really sorry." He began guiltily.

Hyoga and Isaac turned back to Crystal and groaned when they saw the bucket, "No offense master, but I start to think Master Camus enjoys torturing us a bit too much!" Isaac whined, "He looks nothing like it but he is a sadist!"

"HEY!" Hyoga scolded his fellow trainee, "Watch your mouth! It's our master you were talking about!"

"But it's true!" Isaac whined again.

Crystal called them sternly, "Boys… enough! And Isaac… refrain from such comment about our master." He warned the green haired boy whose shoulder fell in defeat, "And here… give me the cup Hyoga, and take this…" He ordered the blond boy as he helped to put the bucket on Isaac's head.

"It's suck…" Isaac groaned as he felt heavy bucket on his head, now he had to deal with still neck in few hours.

Hyoga held the bucket carefully between his palms, "Tell me again who brought this upon us!" He growled to the boy he sat on.

"Boys!" Crystal warned them again before they could start another bickering.

"Yes master Crystal!" They chorused.

* * *

Camus sipped his tea slowly, enjoying the scent of peppermint. He adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose carefully, his eyes browsing through each phrase on the book he held. He missed study room of Siberia, when it was not as grand as his library in Aquarius temple it was homey. It might something to do with the humble hut with simple interior and fireplace, nothing like his luxurious temple.

The book he read was written in Devanagari, kanji, and Greek letter, and he had spent hours trying to decipher what written on it. But so far all phrase that written made no sense and only gibberish for him. Milo would laugh his head off if he knew Camus had found a book he couldn't figure out. But then again the book was not his, it was…

Shaka's… in a sense.

He was always curious of library that belonged to his fellow scholar saint, and Shaka never mind to let Camus enjoying the well of knowledge. Which led the French saint to learn reading Devanagari and Kanji, due to more than half of books and scrolls in Shaka's library were written in those. At first Camus was slightly baffled when he saw how multilingual the content of Shaka's library, even his library doesn't contain that large of language choices. Camus thought Shaka wouldn't allow him to pry on his private collection, but much to his disbelief Shaka even didn't think twice to say 'Go ahead'

His exploration in Shaka's library gave him another finding, the fact that Shaka only viewed around three bookshelves as his.

"_The rest belongs to my predecessor… when it does stored in my temple and at any rate inherited, I still think it's not mine and I have no use of it…' Shaka stated calmly as he traced writings on the book he read. _

_Camus was taken back at that, "No use? You claim books from Virgo saints before you are no use for you?" _

_Shaka chuckled softly, "Don't be alarmed like that Camus, no use for me does not mean they are bad or useless…" He paused, "I just prefer to not reading it, not interested for some reason…" _

"_Why?" _

_The Virgo saint knew Camus wouldn't leave it at that, "Well… would you be interested to read Milo's diary?" _

"…"

Later Camus could understand why Shaka was not interested in old book of his predecessors. And when Camus was never one to believe in zodiac's personality guide, no matter what lower ranked saint seemed to believe when they associate gold saint's personality with the zodiac. But the Aquarius saint had to admit from journal, records, and legacy his predecessors had left, gold saint under the same zodiac tended to have similar personality.

Taurus saint was always stubborn, determined and reliable person, Pisces saint was always proud and would defend their honor fiercer than all saints combined, Capricorn saint was loyal and solemn just like their Shura, Camus himself admitted he was typical Aquarius saint, intelligent, curious, and visionaries.

And what he concluded from what stored in Shaka's library, the Virgo saint had one heck of eccentric predecessors. When rows of philosophy book that probably had been there for century was not that surprising for Virgo saints, Camus found other kind of books that stored were too random. There were books about cooking, art, archery, swordsmanship, weaponry, chess, science, etc, which in Camus' opinion fell to still reasonable to be in library but then sewing, ikebana (surely belong to Japanese saint but what for?), Haiku, traditional game, custom from various country, etc and what else impractical things Camus could brand had little connection with their sainthood. If he didn't knew better, Camus would assumed Virgo saints before Shaka were nuts or eccentric aliens came to earth for research on human. That… or he had spent too much time around Milo and the nonsense tendency had rubbed off on him.

The book he read was a journal and a very thick one at that, and he _guessed_ it was compilation of Virgo saint's journal. There was a BIG question mark when he saw journals compiled for centuries, especially because he didn't think saints who _probably_ anything like Shaka would create tradition of compiling journals through generation. Camus just had impression that Virgo saint like Shaka was always protective of their personal space, the idea of journals he had on his book simply not Shaka-like.

"Hm… this page must be from 16th century, the date is blurry…" He grumbled as began to read neat writing of kanji that mixed with Greek letter occasionally. The language used though was Japanese, fortunately Camus had learned that Japanese for a while. "Kani?" He raised an eyebrow, "Maybe Virgo Shijima was referring to Cancer saint…"

Camus titled his head to the side when Crystal entered the study room, with a tray of teapot, cups and cookies. "Find anything master?" He asked as the tray carefully placed on coffee table.

The higher ranked saint tapped his finger on nearby table, "I found nonsense so far…"

Crystal raised an eyebrow at him, "Really master… are you sure that journal belong to Virgo saints?"

Camus sighed at incredulous look Crystal shot him with, "I should know why Shaka paid no mind when I took this book, he surely has checked this book himself." Then he shook his head when Crystal was about to open his mouth, "No Crystal… I assure you that as cryptic as a Virgo could be… referring to Cancer as crab in Japanese was simply ridiculous."

The silver saint sweat-dropped at that, he didn't expect his master would hit a dead-end like this. At first Camus was about to continue his research, one that had been kept secret even from his first disciple Crystal, but then the ice saint decided to start on new topic just to refresh his mind and ended up spent hours in mind-boggling journal of Virgo saints.

"This is the last straw…" Camus grumbled as he closed the thick book, "The last entry seems to imply daily life of Virgo saint, nothing about war and so does the rest of the entries I read so far…"

Crystal poured the steaming liquid to his master's cup, curiosity set on his face. "May I know why master? You always seem particularly interested on Lord Shaka." At the look Camus shot at him, Crystal added quickly. "I mean he is one of your closest friend after Lord Milo, but you viewed Lord Shaka as a mystery."

Camus took the offered tea from Cystal's hand, looking at rippling reflection on the surface. "Hm… I wonder why myself."

"Is it something to do with Lord Shaka being a very willing subject?" Crystal asked jokingly, he rarely could have a chance for friendly conversation with Camus since he gained his cloth.

Camus raised an eyebrow then took a sip of his tea, "I should know…" That he would hit a dead end. He should know when Shaka casually let Camus research on the journal with amused look firmly in place.

* * *

**Andromeda Island **

Daidalos dreaded it would come to this, he should foresee this miles away. It was inevitable, for they the chosen warrior of Athena had to live through it. All of them were children when they took this path, whether by choice or fate's demand. The Cepheus saint was the latter, he was orphaned boy who almost die by slavery in Somalia's pirate ship and saved when the pirate foolishly tried to invade ship that belong to sanctuary. It was either orphanage or sainthood, and he chose the latter since he had already tasted miserable life in orphanage and ended up in pirate's clutches.

He should knew that much like what his late master had done to him, somebody would beat some sense to any un-saint like mindset of Shun. But still… he hoped…

"Now… stand up Shun!" Tenma barked with crossed arms on his chest.

Once again he should foresee this from frustrated look Tenma shot at Shun when the bronze saint watched Shun sparing, though he certainly didn't expect Tenma of all people could snap at Shun.

Shun whimpered slightly, his face flat on the ground. "Hh… uuh…" The green haired boy stood up slowly, his legs trembled slightly before he stood in full height. "Tenma… I…"

Tenma cut him in, "Stop talking and make an effort to fight me back Shun!" He barked another command firmly.

It should be him who helped Shun to overcome his hesitation to fight, not bronze saint who even had not had his first official mission. But little he could do when Tenma asked permission this morning to be the one in charge of training for today, he trusted his fellow saint even one as young as Tenma. On second though maybe because it was Tenma he accepted the request.

Shun drew his arms to defense stance, and Tenma groaned. "Did you even listen?" Tenma asked tonelessly to the point Shun corrected his stance in a haste of a deer caught in headlights. "Now… what are you waiting for?" Tenma asked.

The Japanese boy gulped, he didn't want to throw punches at Tenma. But so far Tenma managed to dodge his punches and kicks, so he assumed it would be fine to do so. Much to his shock Tenma didn't even flinch when a punch was throw straight to his face, or precisely the bridge of his nose. Shun froze when his fist was just few millimeters from Tenma's face and narrowed eyes of Tenma gave him chill.

"I know it…" Tenma hissed, his eyes narrowed dangerously at Shun. "This is not the time for you to hesitate Shun, a saint should never waver in battle."

Shun looked down in shame, he didn't want to disappoint Tenma or anyone else but he was scared. He felt horrible to harm someone, "I will try again…" He promised timidly, even he was sick of promising this. He started to believe his fear of harming someone was already a phobia.

"I hope… what I heard last night was not a lie…" Tenma whispered, loud enough for Shun to hear it barely thus the green haired boy shook his head frantically to deny.

"I am not lying…" He muttered weakly.

Tenma raised his hand, "Let's try another method." He muttered, "Now… try to focus, and listen to my voice… don't think of anything else."

Daidalos raised an eyebrow at that but he didn't comment, and Shun nodded reluctantly. "Uhm…"

"Just… listen to my voice…" Tenma whispered almost hissing, "Start!"

Another punch was thrown to Tenma, dodged with ease as he titled his head to the side. "Faster…" Tenma muttered, his ears perked up at the command. Shun almost stopped on his track as he heard Tenma's voice echoed on his mind, "Stronger…" It sounded like charm, mantra that dominate his sense of hearing then crawled to his muscles.

"Haa!" Shun launched another punch.

This time Tenma didn't stay still and kept dodging his attack, Shun hoped Tenma wouldn't pull another attempt to fool him. "Faster…" Tenma muttered calmly, Shun complied as he gave another kick aimed at Tenma's leg. "Stronger." Tenma whispered as he jumped to dodge, "Now!" He barked.

Shun's eyes snapped open at Tenma who was still in the mid-air, startled at sudden command. Before he knew it his fist had dug into Tenma's stomach, and he could hear gasp from his master and fellow trainees echoed louder and louder on his ears. At the next second Shun found his fist was still firmly planted on Tenma's abs, and the bronze saint had landed safely on the ground and right hand gripped Shun's wrist firmly, keeping it in place.

His throat was dry, as he opened his mouth to ask. "Aaa… Ten…"

If only Shun could spare a glance to Daidalos and his fellow trainees, they had done impressive imitation of a goldfish. The Cepheus saint didn't believe what happened, at least from his point of view Shun had baited Tenma to the mid-air where there would be no escape and managed to land a hit. Off course he knew it also too good to be true. We were talking about fresh trainee and full pledged saint sparing, Tenma might as well jumped to Shun's fist.

Though his students thought otherwise, "WOW!" Leda and Spica yelled in chorus, "Woaa! Shun! You land a hit on a saint!" They exclaimed in disbelief.

"You are doing great Shun!" June cheered, she will not wasting time to encourage Shun to give him boost for fighting spirit.

Leda and Spica followed June immediately. "Keep going!"

"Yeah! Show him!"

Apparently they forgot Shun was fighting a saint not fellow trainee, Daidalos thought amusedly. Though Tenma's small frame and playful nature made it easy for his students forgetting he was their superior not equal. Tenma and Shun sparing meant the bronze saint was teaching _not_ fighting Shun, nobody was going to win in this spar. Daidalos' eyes glinted in joy as he figured out what Tenma was doing here, not really a fair method but definitely quicker than slow going he planned for Shun.

Shun froze but snapped awake at cheers from his friends, and once he regained his sense he hastily dodged a punch that aimed to the left side of his face. Tenma didn't waste time to launch a high kick, which dodged with a hasty duck from Shun. Tenma's grin widened when he caught glimpse of Shun's expression beneath his bangs, eyes were wide, mouth opened slightly and he definitely unable to calm himself down. Adrenalin was rushing to his head, blood pumped and streaming through his whole body faster than before. Shun was cornered when he kept dodging and before he knew it his body opted to fight back. Punches and kicks were exchanged, Shun panted wildly as his stance quivering under unforgiving heat of sun. He had no power left to fight as standing alone became difficult, and when Tenma's fist came to his direction Shun closed his eyes. Startled when the hit never came instead a gentle hand ruffled his hair fondly, reminding him of his protective brother as his gaze glued to the ground.

"You are great…" His eyes widened when he heard it, "I am so proud of you Shun…"

Slowly he raised his head, green orbs widened at the sight of grinning saint whose face also painted with pride for him. "Tenma…?"

"It's felt nice right?" Tenma asked, grinning from ear to ear, "The adrenaline rush when you are fighting?"

Shun nodded shyly, it felt nice when excitement took over his body and hesitation was forgotten. "Uhm…"

"Look at them…" Tenma said as turned to their comrades who were cheering for Shun, "They are proud of you Shun…"

The green haired boy looked at his fellow trainees who were coming to his direction, cheering for him as Daidalos followed them, and he too was beaming with pride. He never saw them this happy and excited since Daidalos announced their trip to convention in Rodorio.

But…

They were happy for him because…

Shun looked down as anxiety crawled to his heart, reminding him that what they were happy for was just coincidence if not one that planned by Tenma. There was nothing to be proud of, it was all just a…

"Shun… do you know why when saints and trainee faced each other, fighting with all they have?" Tenma asked, his brown eyes locked on Shun's.

Shun shook his head, "But… we are comrades, we shouldn't…"

"Because we are comrades…" Tenma corrected sternly, "We are helping each other to grow." Shun's eyes widened as Tenma's hand rested on his shoulder. "We might inflict pain on them, but that's all part of piling hope on someone's shoulder… our trusted comrade."

"Hope?"

Daidalos smiled as Shun contemplating simple word that suddenly became the most complicated word he ever heard. "We are warrior of hope Shun…" Then turned to the rest of his students whose attention now locked on him. "All of us are growing stronger by each passing days… shouldering hope of Athena, our comrades and the whole world."

"That's why…" Tenma grinned at Shun, "You are not hurting your friends when sparing, you help them to become stronger and vice versa."

Shun closed his eyes, as their word sank on his mind. He knew he had not been a very helping-sparing partner all this time; his hesitation might had stunted his and his friends' growth. And if casting away his fear was what required of him, what they hoped from him. As a saint…

"I promise…" Then he paused, "No… this is my vow as a future saint of Athena! From now on I will not holding back for my comrades!" Shun yelled with gusto, blushing deep red. "I will…"

Tenma nodded in agreement, "Well said… and I definitely would be happier when fighting together with comrades that capable of beating me to bloody pulp."

Daidalos groaned at that, "Don't ruin the mood Tenma."

"I am just being honest." He quipped.

"But still…" Daidalos almost whined, "I was about to recite Athena's speech when she first establish our training system, and why sparing was regarded as the best bonding experience for saints! And now you ruin the mood!"

Leda, Spica and June suddenly yelled, "Argh! Enough! We don't want speech! We want spar!" They whined.

Spica and Leda turned to Shun with determined look, "Go rest! After you catch your breath I call the first dip for real sparing with you Shun!" Spica challenged Shun who blinked in confusion. "I know you are good at dodging! But your agility is awesome!"

Shun blushed deep red, "Thanks…"

Leda shoved Spica aside, "No way! Me first!"

June huffed, "No fair you guys hogging all the fun! Ladies first!"

"Me first!"

"Me!"

"Me!"

Daidalos rubbed his temple as his students kept arguing, "I am glad to hear your enthusiasm but stop bickering over little things! You are future saints Athena for God sake!"

"…Yes master Daidalos…" They grumbled sheepishly.

"Anyway… " He turned to Tenma, "Can I talk to you Tenma? In private…"

Tenma titled his head to the side, sighing as answered. "I know…"

* * *

**Elysium**

Fair nymphs of elysium rarely felt anxiety that overwhelmed them so, as they lived their immortality filled with ambrosia of life. They cowered in fear and hid behind trees, bush or whatever that could hide them from the God of death's sight. One of few rare moments of raging wrath of Thanatos that made nymphs unsure they even could walk pass with the silver haired god, and they might annoy him just for breathing near. Thanatos by no means was never the impatient one, one of few traits that set him apart from Hypnos.

The dream God Hypnos had heard nymphs' wail first thing since awaken from his slumber, that his twin had scared more than half of elysium's population. So after quick fake comforting words to his beloved ladies, Hypnos settled on waiting his twin to show up. As he played his lyre, nymphs sprawled around him as singing poetic verse that telling the tale of their gallant Lord.

"Hypnos!" That was his cue, his twin must be in the corridor by now and sending his beloved ladies flee in fright.

And there he was, same face, same eyes, same hair, with silver shade that set him apart from his blond twin. "Did you have to be so loud Thanatos?" Hypnos asked as nymphs excused themselves in hurry when they saw how furious the God of Death was. "You scared the ladies…"

Thanatos groaned, "And pray tell, why should I care?"

"For one, our master would be most displeased if you spreading anxiety to elysium population just because you are in bad mood." Hypnos pointed out.

Another groan erupted from the God of Death, "Oh please… would you fare better than I am, if someone invade your authority upon dream world?"

Hypnos became quiet at the response, and when he was sure he wouldn't lash out to elysium population but he definitely angered for it. "Well… and should you calm yourself and think with cool mind and refrain from doing something foolish?"

"I don't need you to tell me that!" He snapped.

"But this Hypnos hardly find your statement convincing Thanatos." Hypnos remarked with sarcasm dripping on his voice, Thanatos was about to retort but Hypnos cut him in. "Tell me then… who angered you so, dear brother? And please tell me your rage will not made you lose your composure or worse… some sense to sort out which is _our_ priority and not."

Thanatos bit his bottom lip in anger, he knew Hypnos always the calm and calculating one but still… it was bitter to admit his twin was right. "I know Hypnos, I will not let my anger get the best of me or attempting to venture in living world just for one pitiful necromancer." He paused, "I will not ruin our plan to keep a low profile till the very end of holy war."

Hypnos smiled at that, "Glad to know you have some sense to control yourself when you try, dear brother…"

"Don't push your luck Hypnos…" Thanatos growled at that, "One pitiful necromancer not worth my time, beside…"

"Knowing this necromancer is stirring trouble might benefits us in some way…" Hypnos smirked when he realized there was a benefit to let this insolence slip for now. "Sanctuary would be in uproar by now."

Thanatos rolled his eyes in mirth, "Not much trouble for them but enough to concern it as small annoyance, we are talking about armies who can hold us back since the age of myth after all." He shook his head, "Let's go back… I want some tea…"

"Well…" Hypnos began, "But I wonder how this human capable of calling the ancient souls? Mystical creatures that has perished by time shouldn't be possible to be controlled by…"

"One of two reasons I can pardon this insolence for now…" Thanatos muttered tonelessly.

Hypnos titled his head to the side, amusement dripping from his voice. "Oh really? I assume troubling Athena's saints is one and what of the other?"

Thanatos shot his twin a calculating gaze, wondering why his twin asked when surely it was not that hard to guess. But then again he was not in mood to guess what was going on Hypnos' mind, "Demi-God… this necromancer definitely a descendant of god."

"Oh…" Hpnos gasped in fake astonishment, "I wonder… who it might be? And one who have divine blood that thick enough to be capable of large scale necromancy, but at this age? Unlikely…"

Who cares? We might very well mistaken, and..." Thanatos reminded his twin. "Our liege unlike other deities consider bedding mortals distasteful, and demi-god that born from the union was equally a disgrace."

"I concur… though I wonder…" Hypnos trailed off, "What this half-blood has in mind to stir this trouble? I doubt a demi-god could face sanctuary alone… and dozens of mythological creature would hardly mean anything…"

"That…" Thanatos trailed off with a groan, "What I would like to know, I really doubt there is anything that could be gain from this and I am under an impression this half-blood is provoking sanctuary."

Hypnos raised an eyebrow, "I agree though again… what for? It's not like there is anything to gain from sanctuary…" He trailed off, "Except…"

"…"

"…"

The twin God spun, facing each other with mirrored expression on their face. "Hypnos… I would be mostly displeased and reconsider my decision to let this insolent half-bred get away IF you are thinking what I did just now!" He barked to his twin.

"Then I will refrain from telling you what I was thinking… "Hypnos offered, "I will keep my mouth shut, especially about certain sinner who have been thorn in our side since the age of myth."

Thanatos scowled at Hypnos, then without a word brushed pass the dream god with fury. "Argh! I can't believe we overlook this possibility until now!"

"And I hardly believe we should be concerned if someone tried to use _him_ regardless how dangerous he is for our master." Hypnos pointed out as he quickened his pace to catch up with his twin. "This is not the first time to happen since the age of myth."

"But…"

Hypnot cut him in, "Enough Thanatos, this mess is addling your mind and I prefer to keep hands off of anything that would fail us in holy war…" He paused, "But off course… if this half-bred is planning to interrupt the war OR worse…"

Thanatos became quiet, startled to see the grim expression on his twin's face. "What is the worse this half-bred could do?"

"That…" Hypnos trailed off as suddenly turned to the nearest column on his left side, his eyes widened when a man stepped out from the shadow. Thanatos gritted his teeth in anger and was about to step forward but halted by his twin, he was about to speak but Hypnos did first. "What business you have here?"

The uninvited guest was a tall man who looked in his twenties, crimson hair that reach past his shoulder and eyes as blue as morning sky. On his right ear was a long earring in the shape of ankh that encircled by a snake. The man narrowed his blue eyes at the twin, before sighing. "I want to confirm something… and by no means this visit of mine bear no ill will."

…

…

They held firm gaze at each other, gold and silver orbs flared as if ready to set their uninvited guest in flame. Hypnos was the first who broke the silence, "What do you want to confirm? And since _you_ of all people bothered to step your foot in Elysion, it must be worth to be concerned of."

Thanatos growled then brushed past his twin, ignoring Hypnos who was obviously wanted to be the only one to talk. He hissed with narrowed eyes, "As far as I know there is nothing! And you!" He pointed at the blue-eyed man, "You are the one we should be concerned of!"

He turned away from the twin; crinkling sound of earring he wore in his left ear rang softly. Nimble fingers ran through crimson mane, blue eyes rolled at the twin as his fingers toying with his earring. "Why you have to be so hostile Thanatos?" He asked, "I would not ask more than tolerating my presence for short period."

"Tolerating your presence?" Thanatos growled in fury, "Since the age of myth… I wasted the said tolerance!" At the raised eyebrow from the crimson haired youth, Thanatos added. "We are not so foolish to think you were not involved in holy war! Who do you think you are, you… trash!"

"Thanatos!" Hypnos warned, "It's enough, don't you think?"

"What?" His twin growled impatiently, "And pray tell, why should I back down now brother? In this war we always showed our face to Athena's army! And not even once we… hide _or_ pulling the strings from the dark that unknown by our army, unlike someone we know!" He barked as pointing at the crimson haired man.

He sighed wearily, "I… we… never hide, and it's you who never bother to be observant enough to have any idea what we have done." Thanatos was about to retort but he cut him in, "And we never establish about how we should be involved in holy war, the matter I wish to confirm is not one you could put aside for petty argument."

Hypnos was alarmed at that, "Is there…" He trailed off nervously, for the first time since holy war began true fear crawled to his mind. He hoped it was just trivial matter, but the words that escaped his lips betrayed Hypnos.

**"Are you aware this holy war, should be the last one? That we can't afford another one?"**

**…**

The twin gods paled in instant, their breathing quickened as the other side commented. "I assume that means you are not aware."

...

"This is a lie…" Thanatos rasped with trembling voice.

"And pray tell, how could I dare to lie about this?" He asked incredulously, "It's disrespectful toward your master and mine…"

Hypnos snapped, "But we can't possibly already run out of time!"

"Lord Hades…" The name silenced the twin, as he continued. "If you ask him… would say the same thing." On his mind silently added '_If he bother to put his pride aside to tell the truth' _

For once it was Hypnos was the one who let his anger to rule him and before they knew it, Hypnos had grabbed the front of the man's toga. Golden eyes flared in fury, "You can't be serious… " He hissed, "This is unacceptable!"

"For your own good…" He began, "I assure you, this is true… and what make you think I can accept this _better_ than you?" He snapped as tore Hypnos hand from his clothes roughly, "In case you forget, I am in the _same_ position as you are!"

Thanatos growled at that, "In the same position? This would never happen if your…"

Hypnos cut Thanantos in, "Leave it at that Thanatos, there would be no end if we argue over whose master was at fault." He gritted his teeth, "But still… why this happened? I know we are almost at out limits… this war have been dragging on for too long, no thanks to Athena…" He hissed in anger.

"Can we blame Lady Athena?" He wondered out loud, "For her, holy war is nothing but bloody war that shed blood of countless innocents. She warred for earth and human race with no knowledge of what this war represents…"

"Athena is an ignorant fool…" Thanatos sneered.

Hypnos turned away, the twin had fury painted all over their face. "You didn't answer why this happened…"

He scoffed, "Tell me… didn't you try to meddle in sanctuary affair before holy war began?"

Thanatos and Hypnos held their breath, Thanatos growled low on his throat. "You mean… the golden dagger that was given to Gemini saint?" Thanatos asked.

"This is not the first time we pulled this, if you recalled what happened in 16th century…" Hypnos pointed out coldly, "And what about it? This is war… no fair and unfair play, even though saints have twisted belief about chivalry in war…"

He groaned, "That stunt you pulled off caused more trouble than what we could ignore! You ask me HOW it cause us we run out of time? I have no idea either and if this holy war going any longer than seven years from now…" He trailed off, "Everything we did since the first holy war will be for nothing!"

"So you want us to begin the holy war now?" Thanatos asked incredulously, "Neither side is ready!"

He growled at that, "In our pact… it stated we can't start all out war before Lord Hades and Lady Athena are awaken, no… we can't afford to break the pact."

"But our master!" Thanatos cried.

"The very reason I come here… is to remind you that we should not break the pact, regardless of everything… I am sure you would notice our master's condition, and I am here to warn you…"

Hypnos growled, "And what's the point of this war if…"

"Breaking the pact means the same thing, you realize why we establish the pact in the first place?" He snapped.

…

…

Thanatos couldn't take it anymore as his fist rammed to the nearest column, leaving a huge dent as it collapse. "So we are sitting duck? Damn it!"

Once again silence permeated in the air before the red haired main turned away, breaking the silence with his velvety voice. "I will take my leave then…"

"Wait!" Hypnos yelled, squaring his shoulder. "Despite of everything…" He hissed, "I suppose… you have my gratitude for the _kind _warning…"

"Oh… no need." He muttered softly, "And I suppose I can trust you to not doing anything foolish that all of us would regret." Hypnos opened his mouth to object, "We already have too much regrets Thanatos… Hypnos…" He reminded the God of dream and with that he waved his hand, calling a massive gate made of gold, ornamented with various gems. "Farewell… " He muttered as stepped into the gate, "May we see each other in better circumstances next time, Hypnos the lord of dream and Thanatos, ruler of death." The gate closed with thundering click then crumbled to golden dust.

Thanatos and Hypnos stared at where the gate was, Thanatos turned to his twin. "Now what…?

Hypnos growled, "How should I know?"

"Tell Pandora!" Thanatos suggested, "Send some low lever specter to eliminate bronze saints! If we eliminate their forces from the lowest rank… "

"No!" Hypnos snapped, "Did you forgot Virgo saint's 108 rosary prevent surplice from activating specter's revival?" Hypnos asked incredulously. "We can't risk losing manpower! And unlike cloth, surplice can't replace their owner because they were bond to the very soul of specter! If we lose them, there would be no replacement until the soul reincarnated!"

Thanatos materialized a chair from thin air, and then rested his back against the backrest with a groan. "Damn it… I want to save our lord but in the same time we have to win holy war for him."

Hypnos followed his twin's example as another chair materialized, "Well… that man, he seems like he care no more who will win this war," He paused then added, "Or so I hope…"

"Forget that trash!" Thanatos snapped, "And after all of this over, I will rip his head off! He and the rest of…"

"… Thanatos…" The God of dream sighed as Thanatos listed down of his 'to do' list once they won the holy war.

* * *

**Sanctuary**

Shaka shuddered as he felt chill ran down his spine and he almost dropped the teacup on his hand, "What was that?"

Aphrodite who was grinding spices for potion eyeing him curiously, "Do you want me to give you cold medicine?" In response Shaka snorted at the fairest saint as muttering no.

* * *

**Japan, Kido's manor**

Today was Sunday and Miho had been invited for afternoon tea party with Kido sisters in their garden. Seika was pouring tea for Saori and Miho when she suddenly looking around, she shuddered as she put the teapot on the table carefully. Miho and Saori looked at their sister, "Seika-neesan?" Saori asked, "What's wrong."

The curly haired girl didn't notice the look or the question that addressed to her, and when she turned back to them she almost knocked the teapot with her hand. Seika hastily grabbed the handle, preventing it from the fall. "Err… I am just…" She stammered, "Surprised because suddenly I felt chill run down my spine.." He said weakly.

Miho blinked at her, "Is this woman's instinct kicking in?" She asked cheerfully. "Or maybe it's cold?"

Saori shook her head, "Grandfather said Nee-san have some-sort of sixth sense, though… I wonder if Nee-san have talent to be a seer." She said as took a sip of her tea, "If she did, it would be wonderful of we can foresee the price of stock in the market for next month for example."

"Stock?" There are many question marks above Miho's head, wondering what was so wonderful to know about it.

"Saori…" Seika warned in which the purple haired girl flashed a grin.

* * *

**Andromeda Island **

"Yep yep… Daidalos, I am really sorry to enhance my voice with cosmos." Tenma nodded sagely, "Well… cosmos enhanced voice is considered a very mild hypnotist, and I am really wrong for doing that to…"

"Tenma…" Daidalos cut in his rant, "I am well aware what you are doing, and regardless it was a wrong doing to do so to your comrade… you did it for Shun."

Tenma sighed, "But still… you should be mad at me, because from the looks of it Shun was aware I _did_ something and it was unlikely he would be offended, if anything…" Tenma trailed off, "He will thank me, or worse… apologize because he made me resort to such a dirty trick."

Daidalos smiled at that, he could imagine Shun doing that. "Then you should be happy…" The Cepheus saint trailed off as he hit Tenma's head playfully, "I am mad, and that's your punishment."

Tenma rubbed his head, rolling his eyes at laughing Daidalos. "Yeah… anyway, I am sorry Daidalos."

"And I forgive you." Daidalos replied kindly, "By the way I would never thought of such method, I am planning for slow going actually… " Then he added, "But then again you did better job than me, Shun is determined now to be a true saint and that thanks to you. Maybe…" Daidalos trailed off, "You should reconsider teaching Tenma, off course… after you get your fill of adventurous missions."

Tenma smiled at that, "Thanks… but in sanctuary there are plenty of us who teach, and I am not really teacher material." He said sheepishly, "And I prefer to be on active duty."

Daidalos hummed, "Oh well… Gold saints mostly in active duty, I recall only Aquarius Camus has disciple… and it seems he is helping Crystal teaching by now, right?"

Tenma nodded, "Camus like to teach, and actually some gold saints spare their time for teaching though… none of them really have disciple." He explained, "Thought Dite, Shura and Aldebaran have their own batch of trainees in sanctuary."

"Oh…" Daidalos nodded sagely, "But anyway Tenma, pardon me if I am being rude but may I ask if it's true some people in our rank… said you are uhm… "

"Errand boy?" Tenma rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I am… it's not like because I didn't wear gold cloth means I can get away from responsibility as gold saint, so the least I could do is helping other gold saints." He paused, "Though most of jobs is simple, some of it is simply annoying so…"

Daidalos' lips twitched in amusement, "What is the annoying job if may I know? Sending paperwork to that old whiny Gigas?"

"That is one." Tenma agreed, "The dork sent sarcastic remark whenever he see my face."

The Cepheus saint sighed at that, "Believe me… he did it all saints, the last time I saw him, I squeezed that potbelly of his with my chain." He paused as Tenma laughed, "But sadly Crystal drag me away before I can squeeze his lunch out of his belly, but yeah… that incident land me to this job."

"Oh… yeah I heard that from Shaka." Tenma nodded as he imagined 8 figure of Gigas courtesy of Cepheus' chain. "Poor fat dwarf shouldn't insult a saint's pride, he deserve it… He was drunk and insulted your group who he came across when you were about to report back to sanctuary after a rough mission."

"Yeah, thanks to Gold saints… it decided the one at fault was him. Nobody get away from provoking Athena's saints for no reason like he did." Daidalos sighed, "But then… I expect worse than get pulled from active duty and got send back to my training ground for teaching, especially because Crystal only managed to restrain me but not my friend, Cassiopeia."

Tenma groaned at that, "Oh… about Cassiopeia saint…"

"Yeah, he gouged out Gigas' left eye…" The Cepheus saint shuddered with a grin, "But then again Gigas offended him worse than me, seriously… that man was drunk but how he can forget Cassiopeia Senel is a man and he dared to uhh… well who knows Gigas swing that way when he is drunk?"

Tenma shook his head, "To be honest I kind of hoping Senel will pop out in your island, because well… " He groaned.

Daidalos sweat-dropped, "Please tell me, not another trouble…" He groaned, "God knows whenever he make trouble everyone would look at me as if I am the one who responsible."

The Pegasus saint looked down, on his mind he was reminded of Camus and Aphrodite who get stuck with Milo and DeathMask in similar fashion. What a wonderful life, and he was sure Daidalos can sympathize with Camus and Dite.

"He didn't report back to sanctuary nor in contact with us for the last three months." Tenma informed Daidalos.

"What?" Daidalos yelled.

"And you know… his condition, so we should…" Tenma trailed off.

"MASTER DAIDALOS! HELP!" Daidalos and Tenma were startled when they heard June screaming for help, Tenma was about to run back to trainees they left but the next sentence made Daidalos halted Tenma back. "MEAN DEMON-MAN IS BACK! AND HE IS TORTURING SPICA!"

Daidalos turned to stunned Tenma, "You are one lucky-kid Tenma, Senel is here and… it seems he is doing his usual special greeting for Spica."

"Demon-man?" Tenma raised an eyebrow, "Err… considering his attitude that's not a big surprise but what greetings?"

Daidalos sighed, "One that usually send Spica to sulking corner for the rest of the day, and I am really worried if Shun…"

"MASTER! HE IS HARASSING SHUN!" June screamed and she was getting louder and louder, one would think she was the victim and not the witness. "HELP!"

Daidalos and Tenma sprinted as fast as they could when they heard Shun was the victim now, Daidalos growled. "SENEL!" He would never ever forgive Senel if the Cassiopeia saint scared his disciple for life, best friend or not.

* * *

**Sanctuary**

Milo, Aiolia, Aldebaran and Shura were staring at each other, eyes glaring furiously at each other. Shaka sighed as he stirred his tea absentmindedly, when Aphrodite was grilling something for his potion. The two were oblivious of intense aura that emitted from the four hot-headed saints, if cards on their hands were gripped with a little more pressure from their thumbs they would had made a hole on it.

Silence…

Aldebaran was the first one who called, slamming his cards to the table. "Three of a kind!" He grinned.

Shura growled low on his throat as he threw his to the table, "Got nothing…"

"AHAA!" Aiolia grinned then showed his hand, "Full house! Take that!"

"Not so fast!" Milo exclaimed with his hand on his hip, "Open your eyes wide gentlemen!" Then he threw his cards casually to the table, three jaws dropped. "Royal straight flush~"

"What the…" Aiolia groaned.

Milo cheered as dancing with wide grin on his face, "I win! I win! I win!"

Aldebaran sniffed, "Hic… "

Shura was silent as he stared at the pile of cards, "Stupid game…"

Milo turned to Shaka who ignored the commotion, "Hey! This mean I get to play chauffeur for Tenma's first mission!"

"Yes… though I am not sure who take care of who later…" Shaka wondered out loud.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Milo asked curiously.

"Anyway…" Shaka trailed off, "Glad to know we can decide this peacefully."

Aphrodite shook his head, "Seriously! What Tenma would say if he know we decide his chauffeur with poker?"

The Virgo saint shrugged, "It's either poker or battle royal, the first is less destructive so… "

"I win! I win!" Milo cheered again, sticking his tongue out at Aiolia who fumed.

"Anyway Milo…" Shaka called the Scorpio saint, "Make sure you didn't make any trouble or getting Tenma into one."

"HEY! I am the chauffeur not the kid!"

"Could have fool me…" Aiolia sneered.

Milo lunged at him, and here goes another playful 1000 days war. "You are on kitty!"

"Oh yeah?"

"**Milo! Aiolia!"**

* * *

**Andromeda Island  
**

"SENEL you…" Curse was already on the tip of his tongue but the word died as he took sight of the Cassiopeia saint and his disciples.

As usual whenever Senel come to visit them, June would scream her head off at the Cassiopeia saint, Leda was torn between saving Spica and restraining June and usually end up doing the latter in reflex. In addition of what happened usually in Senel's visit, since this was the first time Senel since Shun came to Andromeda Island, his fourth disciple was trying to help Spica but without much success. Senel had one hand pinching Spica's cheek and the other encircled on Shun's neck in dead lock.

Tenma gaped at the sight, "What the…"

The Cepheus saint hissed, "Senel! What are you doing?"

The Cassiopeia saint was a man that looked a little younger than Daidalos, his hair was white and his skin was tanned. He looked at Daidalos with amused green eyes, grumbled tiredly. "Nah… the usual, playing with your cute disciples! And… by the way I didn't know you got one more addition to this hellish island." He said as looking at Shun who struggled against his hold.

"LET GO OF SHUN AND SPICA YOU JERK!" June yelled as squirming against Leda's hold.

"And chameleon girl of yours is as loud as ever…" Senel commented lazily. "And rude…"

"ARGH!"

He turned to spica, his hand pinched the pink star under Spica's right eye. "What the hell with this pink star? Isn't it enough Leda got pink hair, Chameleon girl wearing pink training clothes and the new brat will wear pink cloth someday? Did you have to get yourself something pink too?" Senel asked with a sneer.

"Uuh…" Spica had tears pooled on his eyes, "Why you are always so mean to me Master Senel…"

Senel huffed, "Saint would not cry just because someone is being mean at them!" He muttered haughtily, "And you! You will inherit my cloth one day so you gotta pull yourself harder or else… it will ruin my image brat!"

"Senel…" Daidalos warned, "Stop harassing my disciples!"

"Why?"

"For one it's simply unbecoming of a silver saint to disturb your comrade's disciple _and _I believe… you have an appointment that have been forgotten for three month Cassiopeia Senel."

Senel's jaw dropped at the voice he heard from behind him, thus the two disciples he held hostage scrambled away from the white haired saint. "No way…" He turned back slowly only to find the Pegasus saint, "What the hell are you doing here brat?"

Tenma scoffed, "I should be the one who asking that, Cassiopeia saint… " He reminded the older saint with a scoff. "And I recall… you are in obligation of reporting your condition to sanctuary directly every month… and you should do so as long as you are in no dire danger that incapable you."

"Why should I listen to you Pegasus?" he asked the Pegasus saint incredulously.

"You didn't listen to _me_ Cassiopeia Senel." The Pegasus saint said calmly, "You listen to Athena and sanctuary." He corrected, "And I simply remind you of your obligation."

Then suddenly the Cassiopeia saint coughed, startling everyone when blood gushed out from his nose. "Oh shit!"

"Senel!" Daidalos cried.

"Back off Daidalos!" He growled to the blond saint, then turned to Tenma who sighed wearily at him. "So… I have to go back to Greece and report my latest mission? Done that already and it's you who received my report." Senel reminded the Pegasus saint as wiped the blood off of his face.

Daidalos shot a questioning gaze at Tenma, but the Pegasus saint rolled his eyes. "I didn't receive the report, you… threw it at my face." He corrected the Cassiopeia saint, ignoring Daidalos who gaped. "Then ran off to who knows where…"

"So what? If it's not about report…" He coughed again. "Man… I hate the heat of this hell! Whose bright idea to name this island after a princess?" He wondered out loud.

At the background Tenma could hear June whispering to Leda and Spica about Senel is closet pervert pedophile who tried to blame his nosebleed to sun. "It's appointment with Lord Pisces Aphrodite regarding…" Tenma trailed off.

"Hell no!" He snapped then began to walk away. "See ya…"

Before he could teleported Daidalos had bind the Cassiopeia saint with his chain, and the silver saint fell face first. "Senel… we are going to sanctuary NOW!" Daidalos growled at his friend.

Senel rolled to his back, glaring at the Cepheus saint. "HELL NO!"

"I will haul you to my shoulder and bring you to sanctuary like a sack of potato." Daidalos explained with mocking smile on his face.

"You will not dare…" Senel spat threateningly.

"And what make you think so?" Daidalos asked with faked curiosity as he did what he promised the Cassiopeia saint, carrying him like a sack of potato. "Don't bother to struggle Senel, we know I am stronger than you."

"You arrogant king!" He growled as struggling against the chain.

"Stop squirming or I will carry you bridal style to sanctuary! And I assure you the stupid rumors you hate so much will be running in our ranks for months, courtesy of blabbering mouth of our silver folks!" Daidalos threatened menacingly, "And of all people, Algol will have a field day!"

"Algol?" Senel almost screamed in horror, "Not that punk! No way in hell!"

"So… will you stop and be quiet?"

"Fine! But put me down!" Senel pouted.

"No way… "Daidalos objected, "You will run off if I did that, so… " He trailed off, ignoring the cursing saint on his shoulder, "Tenma, I will leave my disciples with you so I can sort out his trouble."

"Okay…" Tenma sighed tiredly. "I hope it would go well…"

"No way in hell it would be going well…" Senel snapped.

"Senel…" Daidalos warned him but sighed wearily as if giving up to change his mind, "I will be off then…" And then the silver saints disappeared in flash of golden light.

Silence filled the air; Tenma was still staring at the distance before Shun approached him timidly. "Tenma? I never saw Master Daidalos looks so angry before, and what's wrong with Master Senel?"

Tenma looked with shocked look at Shun, and then looked at other trainees who stood quite far away from them. June and Leda were trying to cheer Spica up after the traumatizing experience, no worries they would hear him. "Shun… Daidalos is escorting Senel for a check-up." He answered curtly.

Shun became quiet before he nervously asked again, "Tenma, he is sick…? Master Senel, he is really not well. When he strangled me I can hear his irregular heartbeat… and his breathing too…"

The Pegasus saint sighed, Shun was very observant and it's not like Senel was ever good in hiding his condition despite of his effort. "Shun… keep this as a secret from June, Leda and Spica." At Shun's nod Tenma continued, "Cassiopeia Senel… he is sick Shun, and he will not have a long life…"

His eyes widened, stammering nervously. "But… Master Senel is a saint he…"

"Not even a saint could survive leukemia…" Tenma shook his head, "Dite and Camus are the best physician we have, they might be even better than most specialist doctor out there but still… this disease is incurable."

"But…"

Tenma smiled sadly at Shun, "We did all we could but Senel is very stubborn and we were late to find out about this disease, we can prolong his life with pulling him out of active duty but Senel refused." Tenma sighed, "He prefer to die in line of duty rather than in a hospital, he was the one who asked Daidalos to train his successor… and that is Spica." The Pegasus saint shook his head, "I am sure Senel wanted to train Spica by himself but he can barely complete his mission in that condition… to step on this hellish island must have take a toll of his body. So at least he wanted his best friend, Daidalos to train the one who would continue his legacy…"

"Hic…" Shun sniffed.

Tenma spun quickly; startled when he saw Shun was about to cry. "Aah… Shun! Don't cry!"

"AAH!" Tenma cringed at the familiar voice of June, the mother hen of Andromeda island. "You make Shun cry!" She accused loudly.

"I DID NOT!"

* * *

Nimble long fingers traced the line on a skull, the movement was sensual as if caressing the finest silk. Rosy lips followed the trail of her fingers, murmuring softly. "Ah… my beloved, one that I hated the most… he he he…" She giggled as kissed the skull lovingly, "Oh Jason…"

"One would think you are losing it…" A man with effeminate voice commented as stepped out from the shadow, "My dear… Medea…" He cooed.

Medea scoffed as she pulled off her veil, revealing fair face of a royalty. Her eyes were light purple and hair with the same shade, her slender body wrapped in silk gown. "What is your business? Phantasos, I thought you would never show your face again, in fear… your father will found out about your little mischief."

The Potrayer Phantasos giggled at the witch, "No no… don't worry Medea! Father looks so depressed since morning for some reason." He explained with a grin, "He will not pay any attention to me for some time, and my brothers are busy figuring out how to cheer him up!"

"And why? You didn't do the same thing?" Medea asked curiously. "And I thought you suppose to call your father... Lord Hypnos?"

"Nah… only when in company of our underlings, and for the first question... I never the brain of group, so I let them to figure it out by themselves… so if we end up angering father instead, I can always say it's not my idea~" He sang-songed.

Medea smiled at that, "You are very twisted Phantasos, but still… are you sure I can have Pegasus saint? I thought all of you would like to kill him by yourself?"

Phantasos shook his head, "That's a bad idea… brother Morpheus learn it the hard way about messing with the Great Sinner of Heaven, and all of us including Father and Uncle Thanatos decided to not go anywhere near God slayer." He groaned at that, "Seriously… which God will go anywhere near man with that title? Beside… we are under impression if we Gods pushed this man to his limit, we will end up awakening his power. So… that's why…"

"You want me to get rid of him…" Medea smirked at that, "Too bad, I have my own agenda for him."

"Nah… as long as you keep him away from holy war, I would be happy enough with that…" And knowing how possessive Medea was with her prey, Phantasos was sure Pegasus would never see the light of the day again. "Anyway… I wonder if _things_ I left are useful?"

Medea nodded, "You have my utmost gratitude, I would never get Harpy's feather, Cetus' scale, fang of Hydra, hair of Gorgon, and fur of chimera on my own… thanks to you I could revive these ancient creatures."

"You should!" Phantasos scoffed, "You have no idea how pissed Uncle Thanatos about it! He will have my head if he knew… and if my father didn't get me first." Phantasos muttered as shuddering.

"Very well… just make sure you warn me if Hades' army decide to interfere…" She reminded the portrayer, "I don't want them on my back, you know?"

Phantasos grinned at her, "Aye aye… boss!" And with that the God of dream teleported away from Medea's atelier and back to his realm. The realm of Phantasos was a empty space full of glowing orbs of dream. Phantasos sighed as he slumped against the couch that materialized from nothing. "Aah... foolish Medea, you have no idea... what you have gotten yourself into..."

Review please!

* * *

**NEXT IN HOLY WAR ARC: **_One year has passed since awakening of mystical creature from the age of myth, twisted fate reunited Athena and Pegasus! _

_"This... would be the first time I turn my back on you, Athena... my goddess... my dearest friend."_

* * *

**So... I add one more character for silver, he is taken after Senel Colidge from Tales of Legendia~ His character is not exactly the same though I recall there is this kind of character, sickly jerk with a heart of gold that always coughing blood and seems like dying everydays. Anyway Senel is dying so you can expect he would not be around for long, and No there is no yaoi between him and Daidalos regardless of cloth and they are close-friend. And actually I have no plan to use this guy for a drama, and his sickness suppose to be a joke but well... it's hard to make fun of people dying -.-'  
**

**Medea is from Fate stay night, a good series~ and her personality is very twisted too and you can research on her origin. She is the niece of Circe if I recall it right so she is still related to God of Sun Helios. yeah... Apollo is NOT the sun God, a very wrong perception for years.  
**

**The red haired man in Elysium is not an OC, I am sure some people can guess who since there is very little character in SS with that hair ne? XD **

**Bonus: teaser trailer from the latest side story that inspired by Golden saints gaiden that just out XD talking about their life before the main story began**

* * *

**1st chapter:** **Blå Ros-Cronicle of Pisces **

That day was a day after my birthday and there was no slightest premonition I would meet the man who will change my life forever. Though I never dreaming the one who change my boring life would be this kind of man.

I raised an eyebrow as cradled the cat on my arms reluctantly, "Excuse me?"

"Throw it away…" He repeated coldly.

"Why me?" I asked, growling at the stranger.

"Because it pained me to do so." He answered curtly.

I groaned, "And why should I believe that lame excuse?" I asked incredulously, "If you don't want to throw this cat, why don't you keep him?"

"Him?"

I blinked at him, "It's a boy…"

"Oh…" Was he serious or pretending to be dumb? "But he still remind me of Mia."

* * *

Shion the Pope of sanctuary always knew the Pisces saint was one of the weirdest man he ever met in two centuries, but never a troulemaker. "So tell me, did't you ask for permission to visit your hometown?"

"I did."

"Then why..." Shion trailed off as pointed at the blue haired child, "You bring Alba..." Shion shook his head, "I mean this child with you? You didn't kidnap him, I hope?"

"He come with me on his own will Holy Father..." The Pisces saint answered.

Shion shook his head, "We will talk about this later, but may I know WHY you take this boy as your disciple? I can always assign one for you and that offer still stand... Pisces Endrance..."

Endrance became silence then answered, "He reminds me of Mia." And Shion fell from his throne when he heard it.

Aphrodite rolled his eyes, "What a great reason master, but very over-used... I bet you can copyrighted that phrase."

SHion groaned, "Endrance! You can't do everything just because of your dead CAT!"

"Why?"

* * *

**Endrance is exported from Hack GU series :) he is obsessed with his cat named Mia so~ First is Dite since Albafice get the first turn in GS gaiden but I am sure Dite's story can't match Albafica and Lugonis combo, I fell it's simply impossible =_=;**

******Blå Ros** means Blue Rose in Swedish, I just use translator to get it so... yeah both Endrance and Dite is Swedish in my story.  


**So ja ne~  
**


	8. Side story: Baptism of Bellerophone

**To be honest I am sorely disappointed at my last chapter, No… nothing to do with review or anything… I just feel I can write what I planned in that chapter better =_=; I can update once a week now so give me support pals XD since holiday is coming! **

**Anyway this side story goes here because it's too IMPORTANT to be in another one~ And one warning I like Shaina and I am NOT bashing her so don't turn on your heels so fast before you finish! I warn you~**

**set 4 months before Tenma met Shun in HW arc universe :D  
**

* * *

_**Four Months Ago, Sanctuary  
**__(Baptism of Bellerophone__**)**_

Tenma looked at the trainee before him, towering before the brown haired boy with intimidating muscled body. The man was laughing at him and probably was gloating about their size, or maybe planning to beat him to bloody pulp. Tenma hardly care nor paid attention to the man's gloating, as he could feel cosmos emitted from this man but it was minuscule compared to his. Tenma's eyes locked at the Pandora box in front of the Pope, carved beautifully with symbol of heavenly steed Pegasus.

Cloth he had been inspired to gain since he could barely talk, baptism to enter saint rank. He was giddy and couldn't calm down; he could hear Pegasus was calling him impatiently. He never understood why but the cloth always calling him whenever he was near, whispering encouragement he sought the most. He turned back to his opponent, Pegasus cloth was his and he will defeat anyone to get it. For that he would win this tournament, this test of Bellerophone's baptism. Named after the Greek hero who had become the rider of Pegasus, blessed by Athena herself.

Baptism of Bellerophone by no means was a very simple tournament; trainees would be divided in eight groups and contained eight trainees each. The first round was battle royal where all groups will fight until only one participant left in each group, the second round would be normal tournament between eight participants. And so far Tenma had managed to enter second round, he was in quarterfinal by now.

There were more people than normal despite this was just a tournament to decide the owner of a bronze cloth, but most people was not here for the tournament. They were there for rare moment of the Pope and eight Gold saints to be present in coliseum, sitting on their respective throne. Twelve thrones made of finest white marble carved with symbol of respective zodiac in gold. The throne of the Pope placed higher on limestone platform, it slightly bigger than one that belonged to Gold saints with emblem of Nike carved on the top of its backrest. There was another throne beside the Pope's; it belonged to Athena and similar in looks with the Pope's but it had higher backrest with bigger Nike emblem.

Tenma dodged a punch that launched by his opponent, wondering how the man could go this far with brute strength alone. "Hm…" A standard grapple type with strong body to support but definitely lack of agility.

"You pesky fly!" He growled.

On his seat Milo groaned as he saw Tenma dodged punches and kicks with ease, "Man… what's the point of this tournament again?" Milo asked Camus who sat beside Aphrodite.

Camus shrugged, "To avoid trouble of dirty rumors in which, we are playing favorite." The genius saint informed his friend nonchalantly. "But mainly we want to see the skill of each group of trainee under different saints."

Aphrodite giggled at that, "Nah… this way we can show off how powerful Tenma is, so there would be no objection later…"

The Virgo saint tapped his finger against the side of his throne, his eyes closed as frowning in annoyance. Why they have to show off like this? Tenma since the age of myth was the sole owner of legendary Pegasus cloth, fate alone would not allow the cloth to belong to anyone else. He and the rest of Gold saints didn't mind if Tenma have to prove himself worthy of the said cloth but…

Shaka could see with his mind eye that was not the only reason, or rather it was just to sate hatred that born from envy in human heart. Trainees especially those who are not apprenticed under higher ranked saint, they envied Tenma to the point it grew to hatred. How pitiful, youths that aspired to be a saint could be tainted by mundane emotion. Aside from that the fact Tenma's origin was undoubtedly Asian was adding salt to wound, until all this year Greek or rather European member of their rank still looking down upon those with Asian origin.

No one dared to look down upon a gold saint, but those closed minded people definitely prefer a Greek or European to sit on 12 zodiac throne. Mu never received such hostility because for them Lemurian was not Asian, their heritage and long history with sanctuary granted them equal standing with Greek. Sometime Shaka wondered if the fact the oldest saint Roushi was a Chinese had been forgotten for convenience sake. It was human nature to close their eyes from the truth they were not comfortable with, how weak…

"You are weak…" Tenma pointed out to his opponent, "At this rate you better give up now and train again…" Tenma was being honest; the boy might be stronger than average trainee but not enough to be qualified as a saint.

"SHUT UP!" He roared as lunged at the smaller boy.

* * *

Aiolia glanced at Shaka who sat beside him briefly, wondering what the closest man to God was thinking. The brother of Aiolos was aware he couldn't and never would understand Shaka fully, one of the downside for being the closest man to God. Aiolia knew Shaka was no God; he was just spiritually powerful enough to be Godly in human eyes. Pope Shion ever said that Shaka was detached from this mundane world, and he was seeing from the eyes of a God instead of mortal. But even so Shaka was but a mortal and he was too compassionate. Maybe that's why he detached himself from the world.

Milo whistled, "I have to say… we taught Tenma well, he put up a magnificent show of superiority like we told him to." He grinned mischievously.

The Leo saint turned his attention back to the arena where Tenma had surprised the audience with lifting his opponent with one hand, and the teenager that was at least three times Tenma's size was too shocked to move. Tenma smirked at the attention he got, and then he threw his opponent to the edge of arena sending spectators in that area to flee. Nobody wanted to be crushed under that gigantic boy. Aiolia shook his head in amusement; Tenma had put quite a show today. Another one down and the next opponent will be the last one.

Normally no honorable saint would show off their power like an entertainer, but Tenma was ordered to put a show by them or specifically Shaka and Camus.

"_Show them your power Tenma, this test is more than just simple test for you. Failure is not an option…"Camus ordered with his sternest voice._

"_Will do!" Tenma chirped innocently. _

_They sweat-dropped, "Did you get what we said?" _

"_Show off right?" He asked with equal amount of innocence._

"… _Right." They began to question what could go wrong, but then again it was Tenma. Something will go somewhere for sure~_

* * *

The next opponent was stronger with same build as his previous opponent, but Tenma also noted this boy was a lot stronger than the one before. But still… Tenma's opponent lunged again at him, charging like a mad bull. From the corner of his eyes he could see Aldebaran cringed when the boy missed and ended up crushing the column with his flying kick. Aiolia heard Shura cursed under his breath about muscle-brained fool, and Camus commented about reprimanding the one in charge of that boy later if Shura want to.

"Yes… I already marked trainees who performed poorly for this tournament." He heard Milo assured Camus and scowling Shura, "Our decision to pick the best trainee from each group is definitely quite effective to give a picture whether they were trained properly or not."

Aiolia titled his head to the side, as he remembered not all trainees were lucky enough to be taught personally by a saint. Sanctuary as training ground with the largest pool of trainee established group system, where trainees will be taught in-group of twenty with one saint. Bronze saint would teach new trainees; from third year to the fifth they would get silver saint for instructor and for the last year trainees that deemed talented enough would be grouped in smaller group to be taught by Gold saints and the rest stayed with silver saint or became foot soldier.

"Aiolia, who is in charge of σ (sigma) and ψ (psi) group again?" Milo asked.

The Leo saint flipped though the papers on his clipboard, "Hm… Whale Moses for σ group and… damn where is the form for ψ group?" He muttered, "Ah… it's Heracles Algethi."

Shura groaned, "What the hell those two has been teaching all this time?"

Camus nodded in agreement then turned to Milo, "Give a warning to Whale Moses, and tell him to give some strategy lesson for his trainees." The ice saint sighed, "His trainee is well trained with cosmos, decent control… but no strategy. Charging like a fool is not acceptable trait of a saint."

"Recommend asking for assistance from strategist saint." Shaka added as Milo and Aiolia taking notes of what they said. "In case Moses alone is not sufficient enough."

Aiolia hummed in approval, "Anyone you can suggest?"

Aphrodite looked thoughtful for a moment then said, "Moses is close with Hound Asterion and Misty, they would be happy to help him."

"Got it." Milo grinned as write it down on his notes.

Saga was glad to watch gold saints busying themselves between watching Tenma and taking notes of the tournament to improve their army, this one of few rare moment where he could watch gold saints working together in such harmony. He was so proud of his juniors. He could see the audience was impressed by Tenma's skill, maybe after this Tenma will get recognition he deserved. But then Saga saw some foot soldiers and trainees who were watching the match whispering in the middle of the crowd, their expression definitely said they were not impressed but disgusted. Saga sighed tiredly; Tenma still had a long way ahead.

* * *

Shura leaned on the backrest of his throne with a sigh, watching Tenma's opponent lunging at Tenma for the umpteenth time to no avail. "What a pity, we have picked the best trainee from each group so Tenma could have the best match for this tournament… if only they perform well enough, we can recommend them for apprenticeship." He muttered calmly as the advisors were still occupied to list down instructions to Aiolia and Mio who were in charge of human resource.

Aldebaran shrugged, "Nah… too bad they miss this chance."

DeathMask yawned, "But so far… hoahm…" Another yawn, "Easy win Tenma got…hoahm… bore me to death." He commented, leaning his hand against his palm lazily, "Did we train Tenma too well or it's these boys that too pathetic to even land a hit on Tenma?" He was not interested in giving advice, none of his business so he ignored the discussion.

Suddenly all sleepiness vanished as Tenma opponent managed to scratch his training cloth, right on his waist but didn't harm his skin. Milo whistled, "Ah… not bad, as expected from trainee with apprenticeship." He commented as he saw Tenma hastily dodged fire based cosmos that covered his opponent's fist. Tenma was almost caught off guard by that attack, because before the last one the fist his opponent launched using pure cosmos and not an elemental one.

Tenma smirked at his opponent, "Hoo… so you were only playing dumb?"

He smirked, "I thought you will lower your guard after beating those fools." His fist glowed with fiery cosmos as he took one step forward, "This Lotto will not underestimate you, after all… you actually a gold saint candidate."

The brown haired boy smiled at that, "Lotto hm… this will be fun."

Aldebaran laughed out loud, "Ha ha ha at last, I think the final match worth something!"

DeathMask was back to bored mood, he was not really impressed with the amount of cosmos that increasing within Tenma's opponent. He droned, "Oh really… I hope so…"

"DeathMask…" Aiolia called, "Don't you dare fall asleep here, our image is at stake." He reminded the Cancer Saint.

"Yep yep… what a rotten luck, why Leo have to be next after Cancer?" He wondered out loud as stifled another yawn.

Better seed of trainees that showed sign of cosmos were already picked for apprenticeship, each saint that already assigned for teaching usually have one to five trainees they taught personally. Off course some saint even though not assigned for teaching could pick trainee they interested with, they needed permission from Aiolia and Milo for that though.

The Virgo saint tapped his finger against the armrest of his throne, his other hand tracing Cassios' profile paper on the clipboard. "Huh… pull Ophiucus Shaina out from teaching duty." Shaka muttered with a frown, "If this Cassios is the best trainee she can offer for baptism test, she is not ready for responsibility as a master."

"Ouch…" Milo cringed, "That's harsh…"

"Shaka is right…" Camus said as turned to his fellow advisor, "If this all she can offer, I suggest 3 years suspension from teaching."

"Err… Camus, this girl has a very bad temper from what I heard." He informed the ice saint.

Camus raised an eyebrow, "And pray tell, why we should be concerned about her temper? Unless she didn't has enough sense to pay no respect to our decision as Gold Saints."

"No…" Milo drawled, "I don't want she venting her stress on fellow saints, ever heard hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" He paused, "Off course since we are talking about an Amazon, this is about her pride as a saint."

Aiolia nodded in agreement, "She has bad rivalry with Marin, and Shaina keep picking on her because Marin is a Japanese." He shook his head, "It would be a big trouble later, since those racist would be glad to wreck some havoc for her, It will not end well for us Camus."

Shaka looked down, holding his temple. "This issue again… I swear one of these days, this have to stop!"

Aldebaran nodded in agreement, "We can't ignore this, a racist silver saint wrecking havoc in our rank!"

DeathMask frowned at Aldebaran's statement, "Why the hell we should be afraid of one little girl? A silver saint?"

Aphrodite rolled his eyes, "DeathMask… we want to avoid conflict in our rank, and definitely violence is not an option!" He reminded the Cancer saint, "What people would say if we solve our problem like barbarian?"

The Leo saint nodded in approval, "She has support from Gigas, we are playing with fire here…"

"And the old fat dwarf is not helping~" Aphrodite grumbled, "One of these days, that old man would not just polluting our sight with his ugliness…" He droned in bored tone.

"So troublesome." Groaned DeathMask. "Can't I just send his sorry-ass-soul to hell?" The answer to his question was quick.

"**No."**

They answered in chorus, when Saga suppressed his laughter at DeathMask's hundredth attempts to offer service of sending Gigas to hell.

A pause, "Damn, it worth a try~" Another pause, "By the way the offer is still standing in case you guys change your mind."

Everyone ignored DeathMask's offer, "If Ophiucus Shaina did break the law like we thought she would, we can punish her as we see fit off course." Aphrodite pointed out loftily, steering the topic off of Gigas. "But Holy War is near… so we can't afford losing manpower if we can help it." On the background he could hear DeathMask growling at him to not ignore the Cancer saint.

Camus sighed, "Milo… could you…" He paused, "Just send her for long term mission?"

The Scorpio saint scratched his head at the suggestion, "Okay… I can do that, hope she cooled off by the time the mission is over."

"How long you can send her off?" Aldebaran asked.

"… Three months at most…" Milo answered reluctantly.

"Well…" The Brazilian saint trailed off, "That's long enough…" He paused, " I hope."

Saga frowned at what he heard, the Gemini saint always hated racism that rooted in sanctuary. Since he was granted Gemini gold cloth when he was seven, he always tried to be genial to all people in sanctuary despite of their race. Athena herself frowned upon racism since the age of myth, she was goddess of war but in the same time she also one who warred for peace. He couldn't just eliminate Gigas or his lackeys in open, sanctuary already built strong and long relationship with noble all over the world. Solving their problem through pure violence would destroy their reputation; sanctuary was Athena's messenger of peace and not just military force. To be seen as dictator and terror was not an option, not to mention eliminating the likes of Gigas from their rank carelessly could spell civil war. They will not let this alone but not now; Saga and the rest of gold saint had been planning to erase all corruption in sanctuary for years but for now…

Aiolia turned to Milo, "And… you will be the one who tell her about this suspension." He shook his head when Milo scowled at him, "She know I am a friend of Marin, and also with who I am~ and from there..." Aiolia trailed off with a scowl, "You can imagine the rest?"

Milo almost whined, "Ah damn…"

"Milo… Aiolia." The calm voice of Saga echoed softly, and the gold saints turned slightly to look up at him. "Be patient, the time will come when sanctuary would be free from such belief and hatred." Saga paused as he remembered something about Shaina years ago, "Oh, and about Ophiucus Shaina… there is a reason for her to train her trainee wrong."

Milo and Aiolia looked at each other, "What it might be my lord?"

"That is…"

* * *

Back to the arena Tenma had dodged a fiery roundhouse kick, jumping high to the air. Tenma almost smirked when he saw Lotto was about to attack when he was in the mid air, what a big mistake. His fist glowed with blue aura, "Pegasus Ryu-seiken!"

Caught unaware the older trainee rolled to the side to dodge, but unable to get away unscathed. Lotto moaned in pain as his back collided roughly against the column, his eyes widened when he caught sight of shadow on the ground. The top part of the column had collapse! He was about to move but startled when pain stopped him, his ankle was bleeding! Lotto closed his eyes, ready to face his death and from afar he could hear his master calling his name.

"**Lotto!"** Kentaurus Babel screamed in horror as he rushed in to rescue his disciple.

"**PEGASUS SUI SEI KEN!" **

The disciple of Kentaurus saint opened his eyes; blinked in confusion when he felt what landed on his head and the ground were pebbles and dust. He almost jumped when looked up to find the younger boy stood before him. Lotto stared in awe as he concluded that Tenma had saved him,

"…"

"Err… Lotto? Are you alright?" Tenma asked worriedly.

Lotto blinked, "Uh… I… thanks!" He stammered nervously, embarrassed that he had staring for quite some time at Tenma.

Tenma sighed in relieve, "You are welcome Lotto."

"Che… so uncool." Lotto looked down, grumbling under his breath.

"Uhm… Lotto, are you sure…" Tenma began.

"**I GIVE UP!"**

Lotto yelled as loud as he could, startling Tenma and his master who were the closest. "Man… I got beaten by a kid half my age!" He whined jokingly as stood up, dusting his pants with a grin.

Kentaurus Babel and Tenma blinked in confusion, silence fell in the air at Lotto's sudden declaration. Babel turned to Sagitta Ptolemy, the referee who was equally as dazed as they were. "Woi! Polemy! Wake up, we got our winner!" He yelled at the Sagitta saint.

"Uh oh…" Sagitta looked back and forth from Tenma and Loto, **"The winner is TENMA!"** He announced as loud as he could.

Tenma blinked again in confusion, that was not how he expected the match would end. So far he had planned epic win from round one till quarterfinal. His opponent had given up the match definitely not expected. Tenma scratched his head, hoping regardless it didn't go as he planned it was epic enough like his brothers asked. So in conclusion… he grinned wider.

"Yahoo I win!" He cheered.

Kentaurus Babel, Sagitta Ptolemy and Lotto looked oddly at him. "Yeah, I announced that one minute ago kid." Ptolemy pointed out, suppressing his laughter at the hilarity.

"I win! I am a saint!" He cheered as running in circle.

"Are you listening?" The Sagitta saint asked the happy boy of the day.

Tenma was still running in circle, "Yahoo!"

Babel put one hand on his shoulder, "I guess that is a no."

As Tenma was busy in his early celebration, Lotto had approached his master nervously with his eyes locked on the ground. "Master Babel, I am so sorry…"

Babel smiled kindly to his disciple, frowned when he saw Lotto shook slightly. He was always strict, and already called slave-driver master by his peers but Lotto had survived for years as his disciple and not once complaining. "Lotto…" He sighed as patted Lotto's messy red locks, "It's fine, you put up a good fight against a gold saint candidate and I am proud of you." Lotto looked up in surprise at the words, tears had pooled on his eyes. "Don't worry, there are few silver cloths left and I am sure it will suit you better!"

Lotto beamed at that, "Yes! Master Babel!"

* * *

"TENMA!"

Tenma stopped his dance, turned back to face the Pope who had descended from his throne along with gold saints. All saints and foot soldiers who at once fell on their knees in respect for their leader. Not even dared to look up to representative of Athena before he waved his hand as sign for them to stand up. "Congratulation… from now on, you are the new Pegasus saint." Saga exclaimed proudly as he presented the Pandora box of Pegasus before Tenma.

All gold saints suppressed the urge to snort at the last part Saga said, because Tenma was never ever a _new_ Pegasus saint. The boy smiled at the Pope who for years he had looked up as a father, and then he shot a grin to Gold saints who stood behind the Pope in which they smiled fondly at Tenma.

Suddenly the Pandora box opened without warning, revealing the cloth of Pegasus in its steed form. Gasp echoed as the cloth disassembled and wrapped the body of its owner in a blink of an eye. Tenma stared with wide eye at the cloth he wore, hearing the soft hum that as if singing how good to be back. A very nostalgic feeling, where some part of him that had been empty all this years was filled.

Tenma brushed his finger against the chest plate, whispering something he didn't understand. "Welcome back…"

* * *

All gold saints noticed Tenma's reaction to his cloth, they exchanged look with each other before nodded. Shaka stepped forward then murmured something to Camus who soon followed him. The Virgo saint then cleared his throat, "This conclude the Baptism of Bellerophone, and we welcome Pegasus Tenma to our rank! As one of us, saints of Athena! However… there is another matter we would like to address for today." All audiences paid attention with shock and curiosity painted on their face, as they didn't expect the announcement.

Camus looked around then continued, "We will have a briefing, and I expect all saints whose student participated today to be present!" He paused, "This is important meeting and you are not allowed to be absent."

Murmurs and whispers started to erupt within the crowd, and the gold saints let them be. They wanted to see the reaction of their peoples, most of saints looked confused, fascinated, and nonchalant. Misty who came to watch the tournament nudged Shaina who stood on his left, "You will be in the briefing right?"

Shaina was not in good mood; she was fuming in anger because Cassios couldn't make it to second round. Cassios was the _only _trainee in apprenticeship that didn't make to second round! It reflected poorly on her! She gritted his teeth in anger, snarling at Misty who almost jumped at her hostile response. "Yeah! I will be there!" She suppressed her urge to pull her hair out, "Argh! I am sure I would be humiliated in this meeting!"

Misty rubbed his poor ears, he was not close with Shaina but she is still a friend. Sometimes Shaina's method was very rough and un-saint like. "Shaina, I am not being a meddler but you better keep your temper in control."

The Ophiucus saint glared at him, and he could feel it even beneath that mask. "Shut it Misty! I am really in need for killing something and preferably… "She hissed as looking at Tenma who walked right beside Shaka as he and other gold saints except Camus, Milo and Aiolia were leaving the arena. "That… Asian boy!"

The French saint grabbed Shaina's left arm, startling her. "Listen!" He hissed, "Gold saints despise racism with passion, and if you dare to land a finger on Tenma because of that petty reason…" He trailed off; a warning was on the tip of his tongue. Misty most of the time was easygoing, friendly and vain man, but Shaina knew Misty was not a saint she could mess with, after all Misty was her senior and one of the strongest of silvers. "You will meet your doom on their hands Shaina, and I doubt we will find you corpse afterward. You would likely end up as dust!"

"I…"

"Listen to Misty, Ophiucus Shaina…" The silver saints turned back to see the one who joined the conversation uninvited. It was Lyra Orphee. Shaina gulped at the sight of the musician, she wondered why even the strongest silver saints meddling in. "Tenma is my friend, and I… can testify his skill that he is worthy to be one of us. A race is never a reason to be unworthy to be a saint, you should understand this as…"

Shaina didn't need another warning as she stomped away from the other silvers, wanting nothing but shut her ears off. Misty knew Shaina would be around since the gold saints that left had not dismiss them, she probably would hang out with her racist gang. Misty shook his head with a sigh, "Oh dear me… what are we going to do to with her?"

Orphee narrowed his eyes at retreating back of Shaina, "Well, it worth to try changing her mind… Gold saints has express their growing worries over this."

"Lord Aphrodite told me that too…" Misty hummed, "Holy war is just ahead and they can be picky about petty things such as where you come from~"

The musician saint chuckled softly at Misty, "I agree… we shouldn't, but I doubt Shaina will agree with us anytime soon once she go to this briefing."

"What do you mean?"

The Lyra saint frowned, "Well… let's say this meeting will push all wrong buttons of Shaina."

* * *

Aiolia cleared his throat, and then calling attention from the crowd as his cosmos enhanced voice filled he air. "This briefing will be held in Elaióchrous Hall, and I am sure you would like to know the purpose of this meeting." The Leo saint narrowed his eyes dangerously; "This is about performance of your students today, and I assure you… we are impressed in both good and bad light." Some saints paled at the announcement.

The Scorpio saint grinned mentally because if his grin reached his face, it would ruin the mood. And he didn't want Aiolia hogging all the fun by himself, "As you can see…"He raised his clipboard, "We already took note of each participants for today, and we will make sure _all _of you know what to expect in the future…" Oh… they were scared out of their wits! Milo thought gleefully, only to be reprimanded by Camus via telepathy.** _/We are not going to scare our subordinates Milo!/ _**Milo rolled his eyes**\\_Between you and me, I wonder who scare them more?\\ _**

There were hushed whispers on the crowd and most of it definitely protests, and they were questioning why they had to attend this meeting. Most of them were displeased to attend such meeting. Milo seemed had taken liking to scaring their subordinates much to Camus' displeasure, "Be thankful because Capricorn Shura seems more than eager to join this meeting, and we could talk him out of it." That didn't help at all, as they could imagine Shura throwing his infamous lecture in loyalty as a saint of Athena at them with full force.

"I will expect all of you to be in the hall in thirty minutes." Camus announced tonelessly. "And by that time if you have not been there, expect an ice wall blocking the entrance." He muttered as turned away and then leaving the arena with Milo and Aiolia in toll, their mantle blew behind them gracefully.

Musca Dio was one of silver saints whose student had performed very poorly today, his student had tripped himself in the middle of battle and break his leg. Thus the silver saint summarized the thought of those in the same page with him. "Oh SHIT!" And Heracles Algethi who stood right behind him agreed wholeheartedly.

Kentaurus Babel in the other hand had a wide grin on his face, "This would be fun." He had already warned his fellow silvers who was in charge of training group about how poor they trained their trainees, but they never listened because those trainees definitely would ended up as foot soldiers. But then again they forgot there was nothing wrong with having well-trained foot soldier instead of a bunch of goons.

Sagitta Ptolemy was a full time frontline saint, so he had no hand in teaching except few times his fellow saints asking for assistance. He looked at the grinning Babel whose disciple had been sent to healer hut, "Babel… are you having fun for our friends that has been scared out of their with by this meeting?" He asked incredulously.

He snorted, "Nah… this will teach them to hear me next time!"

* * *

Tenma had marked today as one of the best day he ever had in his life, he at last became a saint! He skipped happily behind Shaka as the Virgo saint led the small boy to his private chamber. The Indian had told Tenma he wanted to talk in private with the Pegasus saint, and the boy wondered what Shaka had in mind. Tenma raised an eyebrow when Shaka locked his chamber with an audible click, wondering why he had to lock the door. It's not like anyone would dare to enter without knocking first, Tenma became more confused when Shaka created a barrier on the room. Shaka was afraid someone will eavesdropping them?

"Shaka?"

The Virgo saint suddenly fell on his knees then hugging the smaller boy tightly. Tenma gasped in shock at the urgency Shaka showed, "I am so sorry Tenma…"

"Shaka… why you are sorry?" He asked unsurely, "You didn't… do…"

"I did many things Tenma…" Shaka cut him in, "And now you are at last become Pegasus saint…" Silently added on his mind 'again and again…'

Tenma didn't understand why Shaka behaved so strange since the baptism test began, but Shaka seemed so sad now. "Shaka… are you alright?"

"Listen Tenma!" Shaka almost yelled at the boy as his blue eyes locked to Tenma's. "There is something that you have to know… keep it in your mind from now on and don't tell anyone. Understood?" At Tenma's frantic nod Shaka whispered something to his ear.

* * *

The hall had been filled by saints of silver and bronze, the gold saint sat on the steps that led to altar of Athena. The hall was part of public temple named Eaióchrous, Greek for olive, which was the gift Athena presented to citizen of Athens when the goddess competed with Poseidon over the beautiful city. Just like the name it was located in the middle of Olive garden, the shape of the temple was different from usual because the temple was oval just like the fruit of olive. The olive garden was essential for sanctuary as they used olive oil for cooking, the fruit for consumption, the leaves for medicine and the wood also used for carpentry. When the group of saints walked through the road that led to the entrance, many servants both female and male bowed in respect before continued their work to harvest the olive.

Heracles Algethi was rubbing his temple as he walked to Eaióchrous temple with his fellow silvers, "Man… why we should attend this meeting? What's the point of discussing our trainees anyway?"

"I agree…" Said Musca Dio as shaking his head, "We are teaching a group of second rated trainees, none of them will become a saint!"

Algethi nodded in agreement, "This meeting suppose to be for Noesis, Daidalos, Babel or Crystal! They are the one who have apprentice not us!"

Jamian cackled as he caught up with his fellow silvers, putting his hand on Dio's shoulder. "Same here~ though I fear the wrath of gold saints rather than concerned about why we are here."

"Che…" They grunted in the same time, Dio sighed. "Can't we have a say in this? Gold saints are our superior but doesn't mean they can…"

**15 Minutes later~**

Babel had heard the conversation between Dio, Algethi and Jamian and he couldn't help but smiling smugly once they found themselves face to face with gold saints. Aiolia, Camus and Milo were calmly sitting on the steps when the rest of lower ranked saint stood before them.

They were so intimidating with just sitting there with their eyes locked to the crowd, most of silvers and bronzes even cowered in fear to be so close with gold saints. Babel tapped Dio's shoulder, "Do you think you still want a say in this? By the looks of it the first people who voice their complain in this meeting will get a free shot of scarlet needle, electrocuted or worse… return to their bed tonight in instant coffin of ice." Babel almost singing this out, this would teach these three to listen next time.

He gulped nervously, "No."

Aiolia stood as he watched the last bronze saint who almost late entered the room just in time in last second. Gasp echoed as Aquarius Camus stood, his forefinger pointed to the entrance. Ice particles shot up from the tip of his fingers and sealed the entrance of the hall with solid ice. Their eyes widened at the sparkling ice wall that blocked the entrance, they were trapped? They almost screamed that out loud.

The Leo saint noticed the horror that began to settle on their subordinates at the blocked entrance, he shook his head then cleared his throat to call their attention. "There is nothing to fuss about! We _did _say you have to expect this, and the entrance would be opened once we finished." Actually Camus froze the entrance just because he did say he would do it, though Aiolia didn't really expect the ice saint really serious about it.

Dio looked at Babel, muttering under his breath. "Finishing what? Slaughtering us? I feel like a cow in a locked butchering house!"

"They will kill no one Dio…" Babel droned tiredly, "Seriously…" He shook his head as Aiolia thanked all of them to be present, some speech just for formality sake then moved on to the meeting.

"A (Alpha) group to M (Mu) group, the trainers of these groups please pay attention to me." Said Aiolia as tapped his clipboard impatiently, "Your trainees file is with me and I will read it one by one…"

"And from N (Nu) to Ω(omega) group is with me." Milo chimed in as stood right beside Aiolia, "I will read your result after Aiolia done with the first twelve groups."

Aiolia once again cleared his throat as murmurs start to fill the air, "Well then let's start from Alpha group… Canis Major Sirius! Please step forward!" The Leo saint ordered sternly.

Sirius stepped out from the crowd nervously, "Yes my lord…"

"Your trainee is Remus, correct?"

"Yes…"

Aiolia took a deep breath, "Your trainee is physically strong, however… he is not agile and his cosmos control…"

* * *

Forty-five minutes later that felt like an eternity for silver and bronze saints, they had just finish with the fourth group not even half of the list Aiolia had on his clipboard but they already sweating and ready to flee. It seemed Aquarius Camus sealed the only escape route for a good reason. The last four groups had performed poorly and their trainee didn't even make it to second round, they had received an earful from Aiolia and it seemed Aiolia's voice was as thundering as his lightning bolt.

"So what if they will not make it to sainthood?" Aiolia questioned them incredulously when one of bronze saint asked when Aiolia criticized his group. "The foot soldiers are our subordinates! Our comrades! What is the harm training them to be stronger?"

Camus of Aquarius agreed with his fellow gold saint, glaring coldly at the bronze saint who asked. "Please note that holy war is less than a decade and we need all power we could get. I think strengthening our army is simply make sense and you… " He muttered icily at the cowering bronze saint, "Should refrain from asking such a foolish question."

That guaranteed nobody would dare to ask anything for the rest of the meeting. Aiolia shot Camus a grateful grin then return to his list, more saints felt like digging a hole to hide themselves as the smallest details of their trainees' weakness had been pointed out. Aiolia didn't bother to sugar coat his opinion, if anything he was being too straightforward for their liking.

Whale Moses was one of the lucky instructors as Aiolia only point out the lack of strategy in his student's fight and even advised him to ask help from other saints. He nodded as he kept what Aiolia said in mind, when another silver saint on his side was scowling silently.

Milo started reading his, and those who in charge of group in Milo's list were hoping they were in Aiolia's instead. Because Milo kept adding snide remarks and standing on the hall became unbearable by each passing moment.

"Aquila Marin, please step forward…" Milo ordered then grinned as Marin did.

"Yes Lord Milo…" Marin bowed deeply, Milo and Camus raised an eyebrow but didn't comment when Aiolia explained via telepathy that was Japanese tradition and Marin did it out of habit.

Milo nodded in approval as he read his note, "I am impressed… your trainees are well balanced in all areas, though… two boys you entered are very young compared to the rest of trainees in this test." Murmurs started to erupt, some saints looked incredulous and the rest were plainly fascinated. "Off course this resulted to them eliminated in first round, however…" Milo trailed off, "They lasted longer in that fight than what we expect, maybe… if they are not so unlucky to be in one group with Kentaurus Babel's disciple… one of them will make it to second round." Milo concluded with a smirk, he was intrigued that Marin looked indifferent at his report that brimming with praise for her trainees. She was grateful for sure but her body language said she was not that flattered nor too proud.

Shaina who was watching Milo briefing Marin about her trainees fuming in anger, "That girl…"

"Anyway…" Milo trailed off, "I have to say… they are too young to compete, and I am sure you know this… Aquila saint." He paused, "So, why you sign them up for this test? Knowing they have no chance?" All gold saints was also confused why the Aquila saint did that, from what they heard from Aiolia the Japanese saint was always being rational in everything she did. So they were quite eager to know the reason.

"I…" Marin began, "By no means to offend anyone, I realize my trainees are slightly ahead from other trainees their age." She explained, painfully aware certain Ophiucus saint was boring hole on her back. "They already spared with trainees from other group and win, at this rate I am afraid they would be arrogant… I mean no offense but I let them to participate not to win the tournament."

Marin began to regret for being too honest because Aquarius Camus who had been sitting since the beginning of this meeting had stood, looking at her with calculating eyes. She knew Aiolia would help her if she was cornered but… "So…" Camus trailed off tonelessly, "You purposely signed them up to lose this tournament? For them to learn humbleness?"

The Aquila saint gave a hasty nod, "Yes…"

Camus looked thoughtful for a moment, and Marin swore she saw a glint of amusement in his cold eyes. "Interesting…"

Milo grinned then turned to Marin who was still shocked at unexpected comment from Camus, "Very well Aquila Marin, you can bet… now you are on our top list for top trainer."

Aiolia sweat-dropped at that, "Milo… we have no such list."

"Anyway… thank you Aquila Marin…" He said cheerfully as the Aquila saint excused herself then walked back hastily to the crowd. "Alright, next group… "

* * *

**Few hours later~**

"I hope you keep all we said in mind, and let's move on to trainee under apprenticeship." Milo waved his hand with a grin.

Aiolia looked up from his clipboard with a smile, "First… Kentaurus Babel… "

"Here I am my lord…" Babel stepped forward.

The Leo saint looked up from his clipboard, "I have to say… I am impressed, your disciple Lotto has displayed all quality a saint needed." He paused, "I am sure he will do well in test for other bronze cloth, and in couple of years he can take a test for silver cloth…"

Babel almost grinned but he settled on graceful nod, "Thank you…"

"Off course… I think there is a room for improvement in agility. Your disciple has difficulties when trying to dodge continuous attack like Tenma's." Aiolia pointed out and Babel was more than pleased to hear what he missed from the battle. "His strategy is quite simple and he didn't lose composure when it failed, not bad but definitely not his strong point." But then again if Lotto was anything like Babel, strategy was never ever a first priority and in case it failed he will just wing it. Aiolia chuckled softly, "But overall you did a good job, I expect to welcome your disciple to our rank in the near future."

Babel nodded in respect, "Certainly my lord…" And with that the Leo saint excused the Kentaurus saint and he return to the crowd. Two more saints who in charge of teaching from apprenticeship program Aiolia finished his list.

The first two saints Milo briefed had no big problem, as their trainee had not developed decent size of cosmos in them. All he need to point out was more advanced training in cosmos mastery, and then Milo froze when he saw who was the next saint he should call, he was spacing our for some time until Camus called them via telepathy. **_/Milo! What are you doing? Don't space out in the middle of this!/ _**Milo groaned,\**\_Yeah yeah… here come the worse time~\\ _**

"Ophiucus Shaina! Please come forth…" Milo muttered in sternest voice he could manage.

Shaina heard the call and she could barely stop herself from stomping forward, "Here I am my lord!"

"…" Milo sweatdropped at her tone, she definitely tried to not sounded rude but… what a one feisty girl~ Milo thought. "Oh fine… Trainer Cassios."

Milo paused and the three gold saints could feel Shaina was fuming inside, her cosmos was literally screaming murder. The Scorpio saint steeled himself as NO WAY in hell he as gold saint would care about a silver's personal issue over the good of their army. "I have to say… we are sorely disappointed."

Shaina gritted her teeth beneath her mask, silently thankful for the law of Amazon's mask. "Yes…"

Milo for once agreed with Aiolia's advice to not provoking Shaina's temper with snide remarks, it already as fiery as it was so he will take her seriously. "This is his fifth year as trainee, and second year under your guidance." Milo began calmly, "But how come?" He asked in disbelief, "There was no cosmos, not even a miniscule amount used when he was fighting today!" Milo had raised his voice in the last part.

The Ophiucus Shaina straightened herself, "But Cassios already capable to clear the first stage of cosmos mastery, he is more than capable to crush rock his size. And…"

"By pure physical power, not cosmos." Milo cut her in, "From his body built I can see his training undoubtedly consist of improving physical power, and may I know why you train Cassios so poorly in cosmos?"

Shaina's eyes went wide beneath her mask; she couldn't utter even a word to object.

"I am at lost of what to say Ophiucus saint, because all I can see in Cassios' fight was a barbarian trying to beat his opponent to bloody pulp! In short… so un-saint like, and this is not acceptable!" Milo sighed tiredly, "There is nothing to fix, and the only thing that can help Cassios now is _restarting _his saint training from zero."

"But!"

"Ophiucus Shaina…"

Shaina froze at the icy voice of Aquarius Camus, he seemed could do this without cosmos to lesser saints. "Lord Camus…" She stammered in fear.

The Aquarius saint stepped down the steps gracefully so he was in the same level as Milo, looking at the Italian saint with calculating eyes. "I have heard about your case from the past from our Pope…"

She didn't expect that at all, what case she had been involved into?

"When you were brought to sanctuary… you already developing cosmos, and the quantity was not balanced with your physical strength…" Camus explained calmly, and that earned surprised look from Shaina though hidden beneath her mask. "It's quite rare to happen, but it's possible to have this kind of quirk. This is why when you were a trainee, your training revolved in physical strength and endurance. This training for normal trainees is unbalanced diet, but it's the right one for you Ophiucus Shaina. "

Shaina once again was thankful for her mask, and asking for mercy from Athena for thinking the goddess created the law so she could be the hottest chick in sanctuary. That what she was thinking when her master gave her the mask, getting used to wear it was not easy! She loved her mask from now one since it hid her gaping mouth and widened eyes, or whatever ridiculous expression she had now. And Shaina wondered how the hell she never knew she was a whatever special case? "But… how come, no one informed me before today?" And that caused her to train Cassios in the worse way possible! No wonder Cassios was piling useless muscles instead of cosmos on his body!

Camus sighed at that, "As you know… there were three physician saints before our generation." No she had no clue about that. "First is my master Aquarius Fenrir, then Pisces Aphrodite's master… Lord Endrance who was a pharmacist like him and the last one… was your master, Ophiucus Panakeia." He paused, "Only them and Pope Shion knew about your peculiar problem, and due to your young age… they won't bother to explain your condition if anything it might scare you."

She had no comment about that since at this age she could tell big cosmos with fragile body she had in the past, it was a miracle she didn't combust.

"And I can see you didn't inherit your master's interest in pharmaceutics… " Shaina was sure Camus left 'unfortunately' on purpose, she knew they always have short hand for medic. And actually she was the first Ophiucus saint who didn't learn the art of medicine, but then again her master was KIA two years ago before she could teach Shaina anything about it. "So if until today you have no clue, it's understandable…"

Milo cleared his throat, not really happy Camus stole the spotlight. "So we decide to cancel your suspension from teaching for now…"

The Ophiucus saint almost squeaked at the news, she was almost suspended from teaching duty?

"But then again as you are now… unfortunately not fit for this job so we think we will still pull you out from teaching duty but not permanently or years, but you should take a break from this duty for at least half a year." Shaina was not happy about it but gold saints could ignore her peculiar condition and just damn her with suspension that would scar her pride and here they showed that they cared and willing to be lenient. "Seriously… this will not happen if you ask for assistance from your fellow saints Ophiucus Shaina." She had to admit she was too proud to do that, and now she paid the consequences. "Anyway… what's done is done so we will put Cassios under another saint for now, and when you are ready… we will give him back to you if both of you agreed to be master and disciple again."

"…"

Shaina didn't answer and they didn't think she could give any, there were too many thing for her to take in one day. Milo rubbed the back of his head, "That's all and you may return…" She obeyed and return with her eyes glued to the ground, and nobody dared to say anything to her.

Camus looked around, raised an eyebrow when he noticed the crowd had became too quiet. You could hear a pin dropped to the floor for sure. "This ended the briefing regarding your trainees…" He announced calmly, "However… there is one more announcement for all of you to hear."

Another one? They paled at the news, wondering if they could survive another shocking plan gold saints had on their mind.

"As you know… all trainees that participated for today tournaments are the best from each group and trainee from apprenticeship program, the best of the best…" Camus drawled as the information sank in. "We could get a rough picture of the stats of your trainees and how you trained them, off course… unless you are playing favorite." A number of saints couldn't tell if Camus was accusing them for playing favorite or rather talking about their fuss over gold saint' golden boy. "This tournament at any rate proved to be a good way to keep an eye on progress of our trainees under your guidance."

?

Milo nodded, "A good first try for sure…"

?

So this tournament was a… an EXPERIMENT?

"*%^#$%^&*!" Was what echoed on their mind, gold saints had planned all of this!

"So… we will held a tournament for your best trainees every month." Aiolia concluded as he read decision they made on the last tournament, "The rule of the tournament will change every month, so we can check your monthly progress…"

Milo's lips twitched at their shocked face, "Isn't this just wonderful? We will also hold this meeting every month… and the date would be the same as today."

Camus cleared his throat; he almost could hear Milo was about to say another snide remark. "This conclude today's meeting, you are dismissed…"

They were about to leave the hall through another exit that only reserved for high officer of sanctuary, which located near the altar but… "My lord! The entrance is still blocked by your ice!"

Camus turned back, startling the poor bronze saint with his icy glare. "That's not ice I create with absolute zero, you as a saint suppose to be able to break it anytime." And with that the three gold saints exited the hall gracefully, thankfully they were too shocked to hear maniacal laugh of Milo once he was out of their sight. At the same time all of them couldn't believe the day they could be considered 'pranked by gold saint' would ever exist, but here they were totally owned by gold saints not by power. All saints in that hall agreed to keep the embarrassing situation to themselves, as saint of Athena they should save all pride and dignity they had left if they can help it.

* * *

**Virgo Temple**

**!**

Tenma's eyes widened in shock, his body trembled slightly. "But… but…"

Shaka grabbed both of his arms, blue eyes opened as pinning Tenma on his place. "That's why Tenma… find your comrades, friends who will be loyal to you more than to sanctuary… and keep them close!"

"But…"

"Listen to me!" Shaka hissed in desperate tone, "That day will come Tenma… and you should prepare yourself, to face the day when our world become upside down and the line between foe and comrades became thinner than a string of harp…"

"… Yes… Shaka…" He replied the older boy obediently.

* * *

**Present (After Daidalos left for Greece)**

"Shun… when meditating, you are suppose to clear your mind and focus not chanting 'Don't think of anything' again and again." Tenma corrected the future Andromeda saint who was in the middle of meditation.

Shun blushed deep red but didn't open his eyes, he was struggling to get meditation right. "Uhm…"

Tenma rolled his eyes, "Not thinking is impossible because that means you have to turn off your brain."

"It's hard…"

He shook his head, "Not really… but boring, and…" Tenma trailed off, "Spica don't sleep!"

The pink haired boy grumbled as he rubbed his sleepy eyes, "Yes…"

"Really…"

"Tenma?" Shun called.

"Hm?"

"Thank you for helping me, you are so kind… a very kind friend of mine." Shun beamed at him.

Tenma clamped his mouth shut, Shaka's voice echoed on his mind. _"That's why Tenma… find your comrades, friends who will be loyal to you more than to sanctuary… and keep them close."_

_Tenma smiled weakly at Shun, _"You don't have to thank me…" He didn't want to build friendship for loyalty sake but…

"Shun… you can yawn if you want…" Shun was simply too loyal and pure therefore…

Shun blushed deep red, "Sorry…eh?" Shun blinked when Tenma suddenly patted his hair gently. "Tenma?"

"_Thank you… for being my friend…"_ He felt like a bastard if he refused Shun's friendship, beside… he felt stupid if he let Shun and this beautiful friendship go.

* * *

**So yeah~ thanks for reading my story :)**

**Baptism of Bellerophone: This is the name of Pegasus cloth's test, a very fitting name for my taste. Bellerophone is a heroic hero BUT he is too heroic and determined for his own good. He yearned for conquest and adventure so even though he has a beautiful wife and a kingdom he stupidly ride his Pegasus up to Olympus. And as you know~ Zeus didn't like it because Bellerophone in a way tried to rival God with stepping in their home so he is punished. He was saved by AThena after he fell from Pegasus but he became crippled and died in search of his Pegasus. Yeah... this hero LOVES Pegasus, the steed is his pride. ****I am just trying to relate him with Tenma's history as Great Sinner of Heaven ad God Slayer...As Bellerophone threw away his comfortable life for conquest with Pegasus. As Tenma left his normal life as human to be Pegasus saint forever~ You can relate the rest but in the last part Tenma is stuck with his Pegasus forever...**

**Aquarius Fenrir: Camus' master is named after giant wolf, son of mischevous God Loki. XD I have a surprise about this gut BTW **

**Ophiucus Panakeia: Ophiucus constellation is actually Asklepios, the god of medicine and health! So how can I resist to make Shaina's master as one?**

**Pisces Endrance: Like I said in side story note, he is also physician like Dite.  
**

**Lotto is Babel's disciple and he is the first pure OC who get named in this story but I just think that one up on the spot *shrug* no idea why I think up of that name either. **

**It kind of sad Marin is outshined by Shaina in this chapter~btw Shaina's comment in why Athena make that mask rule is taken from TVtropes someone speculate it and I like that funny reason, so... credit goes to whoever who made this wonderful reason XD  
**

**Training system in sanctuary apprenticeship and group is a made up by me, so... don't bother trying to remember if there is such thing in classic SS. **


	9. Seek The Forlorn Tales!

**Mu's fans get lots of his scene in this chap! I even can say… it's his and Tenma's chapter here. Sadly… Shun is forgotten BUT he will get to shine later for sure! **

**Note that Lynx cloth in this story has a tail in armor state. WHY? Because I want it to have tail and I have no idea where it's going, it's cute anyway!**

**spoiler: ****Mei is character from Gigantomachia novel created by Tatsuya Hamazaki and Masami Kurumada. The oldest of 100 sons of Kido Mitsumasa  
**

**Triangle Noesis and Lynx Retsu are saints from episode G**

**note: The hidden city in this chapter, please imagine Noah's ark from dgray-Man or google it, sorry if not clear enough in description.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Seeking the forlorn myth**

Aphrodite thought his afternoon today was amusing, and as usual certain Pegasus saint was involved. He was not the big cause of it but still one of main factor to cause certain Cassiopeia saint to land on his infirmary. Cassiopeia Senel was one of the worst patients a physician ever met. He could be a cooperative one if it was a gold saint who took the role as his doctor, you didn't go against your doctor if he was your superior and a gold saint. Thus Senel only approve to be examined by gold saint, or rather couldn't put a fight with them. And the last time Senel threatened physicians who were not saints but Camus' and Aphrodite's subordinate, the Pisces and Aquarius saint were furious.

"Well… well…" Aphrodite writing down the result in his paper, "I have to say… after three months without a check up it's a miracle your spleen is still in good condition." If only it was not Aphrodite who said it Senel would already scowl at him. His eccentricity aside, Aphrodite was still a respectable gold saint.

Daidalos who sat on chair near Senel's bed had been furious at the Cassiopeia saint, "You are so lucky." He drawled murderously.

"Must be that four leafs clover I put inside my diary~" He mumbled then groaned again when a great headache invading.

The Pisces saint chuckled at groaning Cassiopeia saint, "Now…now… please take a good care of yourself Senel, and if your spleen is swollen it would need a surgery and that means you have to be off duty for months." He shook his head, "I am an internist… I didn't do surgery, which mean either we have to put you in hospital of Athens or call Camus back here."

Senel gulped at the latter choice, "Ugh… I am sorry Lord Aphrodite." For Senel Camus was three times scarier than Aphrodite, because the last time he neglected his health Senel almost died for entirely different reason other than his Leukemia. He had to be examined in freezing room with furious ice saint; Camus' speech to him that day had been dripping with ice.

"Lord Aphrodite… does this _kid_ need to be hospitalized?" Daidalos asked politely ignoring Senel yelling HEY!

The Pisces saint smiled at him, "Ten days of good rest, and don't worry Cepheus… in this very second I hereby declare Cassiopeia Senel is under my care and he has to obey every single word I said for his health." Senel opened his mouth then clamped it shut, "And if you dare to disobey me… or worse escape from your bed Senel…" Aphrodite was a fair saint but for the silver and bronze saints now he might rival Hades himself in frightening department. "I will personally request Scorpio Milo and Leo Aiolia to revoke your active duty."

Even Daidalos didn't expect the Pisces saint would go that far, but nevertheless he didn't think even Senel would dare to do something stupid under that kind of threat, "Thank you… Lord Aphrodite."

The Pisces saint turned to his patient, smiling charmingly. "Isn't that wonderful?" Senel could only nod numbly. "Very well Cepheus, you can leave him in _my_ care now."

The Cepheus saint obeyed as his bid them farewell, the Pisces saint didn't leave any space for an argument for sure. "I will take my leave then, I have probably leave my disciples for quite sometime to Pegasus."

Aphrodite hummed then called the Cepheus saint when he was one step out of the room, "Ah Daidalos… I almost forget, Tenma will leave for his first mission in two hours." He paused, "Aiolia had informed him via telepathy, change of schedule… this mission suddenly become en emergency one."

Daidalos turned to the Pisces, raising a curious eyebrow. "Well… I will be back to my post as soon as I can then."

Aphrodite nodded, "I am sure Milo is already there by now, he is quite excited to be Tenma's chaperone."

"Huh?" Of all gold saints, it was Scorpio Milo?

Currently the Andromeda Islanders were watching another saintly bickering, and they were at lost to see how gold saint and (a candidate of one) argued over who take care of who. And to be honest when Shun was confused, June, Spica and Leda were not impressed. These two were their superior, saints who stood on the top of their rank? Not really aspiring…

"No WAY!"

"Yes way!

"No way!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"Yes times one million!"

"No times one billion!"

"Two million for YES!"

"No times infinite"

"Yes times two infinite!"

"There is no such thing as two infinite~ " Tenma pointed out in annoyed tone, "You are being silly."

Milo scoffed at Tenma, "How many times we told you don't imitate or parrot Shaka and Camus?"

"I lost count." Tenma admitted. "But who cares? I am not going with you in my first mission!"

Milo growled to Tenma with his hand on his hips. "You are going with me!"

"Why can't I get someone else? Why not Alde? Or Aiolia? Or Shura?" He asked incredulously. It was not like he was being picky, but Milo even can't take care of himself without Camus around when it comes to delicate business. From what he read in mission brief, this mission is super delicate and affect international affair despite of the level of difficulties. Milo himself never ever got this kind of mission! He and DeathMask never had it!

"Because I win!" Milo huffed proudly.

Tenma raised an eyebrow, "You win what?" He had dreaded the worse, but surely his brothers were not that carefree to decide his chaperone with poker for example. Tenma's hope crushed like squishy grape in the next second.

"Poker!" Milo announced proudly without thinking twice, his eyes widened when he realized he had said that out loud. He covered his mouth hastily but the face Tenma made said he was too late. "Err… Tenma?"

"YOU WIN WHAT?" It's official, he was royally pissed and silently vowed to stop helping them with paperwork for at least one month after this mission over.

**Pennsylvania, three mile island (USA)**

"One person?" John Black asked in disbelief, "One person orchestrated disaster at this scale?"

If not for demand of behaving like professional officer like he paid for Mr. Collins would groan and congratulate John Black for his shrewdness of pointing the obvious. But then again since the first time they were alarmed about this terrorist, everything had went downhill. At first this lone terrorist was content buying his time and they hoped he would tire and leave the reactor. After all who could stay comfortably in radio-active area for days? On second thought the man who held large portion of earth's population hostage with nuclear for no good reason was undoubtedly had miniscule amount of sanity left on their brain. Mr. Collin expected the government will ordered their army to act but…

"As you have involved a negotiator like me I am sure this data is not fabricated, however…" John Black trailed off, "I have to bring someone with me too?"

But all they did in the end was sending a negotiator with special agent who according to his superior was not one that should be question in which…

Tenma entered the tent calmly, and all eyes locked to him. Murmurs started to erupt, wondering how a child could be granted access to their tent. "Good afternoon gentlemen." He greeted them jovially.

John Black was about to warn the boy when Collin greeted the newcomer, "Good afternoon to you, and this is John Black… our negotiator."

Tenma nodded at him then turned to the negotiator, "Hello…"

John Black gritted his teeth, "Are you serious? A child? This mission is dangerous and there is no way I…"

"Yes… off course, I will handle this mission just fine..." Tenma assured the freelancer negotiator, "I can assure your that much Mr. Black."

John Black was tall with dirty blond hair and warm brown eyes; he wore brown coat and black shirt and pants underneath. He looked warily at the saint, "But this is absurd! I can't bring this boy to that hell hole! With a terrorist to boot!" He argued incredulously to the officer who sat with crossed arms, shaking his head at John Black.

"This is not within my authority John Black… " Said the officer as adjusted his glasses, "Just do your job or get out of here… though it would be impossible to find another negotiator r that willing to go to radio-active hell… in few hours."

John Black looked back to the child who smiled warmly at him, wondering what was going on here that of all people he had to accompany, a child to a radio-active area? The child was definitely an Asian, maybe a Chinese or Japanese but his English despite of not accentless was not those who were raised in Asia. His clothing also not telling, he wore red shirt, jeans and blue jacket thus gave him a very common look of children his age.

"But still… I can't agree to this arrangement, this simply…" He tried to argue.

"Then you can resign from this case Mr. John Black…" The Pegasus saint cut him in.

The officer whose name were Collins was startled at the suggestion, "But that…"

"Boy…" John Black almost growled.

Tenma narrowed his eyes, "Hiring a negotiator is government's wish… "His eyes were closed now, "If Mr. Black is not willing to bring me along, then he might as well resign… "

John Black was about to retort but Collins nodded, "Very well…"

He turned to the officer in shock, "Mr. Collins?"

"Either you agree with this arrangement or resign…" It was final, there was nothing he could do but oblige. "You have one hour to prepare yourselves."

**Military's storage tent**

John black groaned as he put on the protection suit, but half-way he noticed his charge didn't move instead watching him with those curious brown eyes. Despite how shrewd the boy handled his complain, now this child looked as innocent as other children his age. But there was something in that eyes that as if so… ancient.

"Boy… where is your…" He began to ask before stopped himself, cursing silently on his mind. "Oh, how I can bring you to the reactor if there is _no_ suit that could fit you?" He doubted military army stored child size suit, and they were running out of time.

Tenma raised an eyebrow, "Mr. John Black…"

"John… please call me John…" Said he, "And you are?" When he thought of it again, why no one in that room bothered to ask this boy's name?

There was a pause, the boy was hesitating to answer him. "Pegasus…"

John smiled at that, "Is that a code-name?"

Tenma laughed at that, "You think I am some kind of spy-kid?"

The negotiator felt the boy had relaxed around him despite of previous argument, which was a good improvement if they want to work together. "I know that movie… spy-kids, but I don't know they really exist."

The Pegasus saint thought that might fit them a little as most of saints were teenagers, but they were far cry from spy. They were warrior that armed with fist that could render the sky, definitely not spy or ninja. "I am not a spy Mr. John…"

"Oh… hm…" He looked at Tenma intently, observing the boy's posture and behavior. "Let me tell you a few things I found about you from my short observation…" Tenma raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. "First of all… you are an Asian, but definitely not raised in your home country. You might be a half, but definitely Asian descend."

"Oh?" Tenma's interest was tickled. "Why you think so?"

John Black smiled in response, "I have to say… your English is good but there is an accent, but it's not belong to those whose mother-tongue is Chinese or Japanese for example."

"How about India?" Tenma asked out of curiosity.

"Kid… you looks nothing like Indian." He pointed out.

_"Namaste, mera dost!"_ Tenma grinned at him, when he saw John Black sputtering in shock. "I speak Hindi better than English… and your face! _Woh Hansane wali baat thi_!" Tenma laughed at shocked face John made, "It's funny!"

John Black shook his head; this boy was too unpredictable even for a Sherlock. "And your first language?"

"Greek." Tenma answered quickly, seeing no harm letting few things slide. "Other languages I am fluent enough at are Italian and Chinese… I am still learning Japanese, Latin and French." English and Chinese were language most saints learned early, their missions demanded them to travel often since they were young so they usually picked up many languages along the way. Tenma was not interested to learn Latin or French but Camus insisted, and Shun had offered to teach him Japanese and katakana. He was not interested to boast as it was not that great to master more than three languages in their rank but he hoped to appear more dependable at least a little in John Black's eyes.

He gaped at that, what kind of organization demanded a child so young to master so many languages? Or rather was there any organization like that in Greece? He shook his head, as that was not the point here. "Pegasus, are you sure you want to be a part of this?"

Tenma rolled his eyes, "Mr. John… I thought we don't need to argue any further about this, nobody have any say in this other than my superior." There, no more space for argument, "In the other hand, I wonder why you oblige the call for this dangerous mission?"

"Why not?" He asked back.

"Other than to save this country's face and money…" Tenma pointed out helpfully. "You are not part of military… so you are not fighting like a warrior for sure." Or dying for your honor for that matter.

"Ah… " John black smiled at him, "I fight with my brain and words… as a negotiator."

Go figures… Tenma rolled his eyes again; your job already said that out loud.

"I off course need money like everyone else but… I would like to help protecting peoples." He paused, "Rather than saving someone's face as you put it, or mine for that matter…"

What are you? Social activist? Tenma mused, but he was definitely admired the man for his bravery and kindness. John Black would be a fine saint despite of not able to use cosmos. "Well then… Mr. Black, despite of not knowing you for long I will trust with all my heart." John Black was taken back at that, wondering why such a young child suddenly looked like a knight that came out from book of heroic tales of old age. "So… would you trust me?"

**Half an hour later… **

"Incredible…" John Black commented as looking around him, light blue aura covering his body like a blanket, "How is this possible."

Tenma hummed, "Don't bother to understand what is that… and you only can be protected by this if you are in six feet radius from me."

"So that's why you let me wear the body suit even though it's not necessary around you?" John Black asked curiously, one of his hands was holding the head protector. "It's ok to be cautious but do you think I will be anywhere farther than that from a seven years old boy in radioactive area like this?" He asked incredulously, "I will not leave you alone Pegasus…"

Tenma almost groaned at that, how much it would take to make this man to have faith in a seven years old boy? "I didn't mean it like that…" He closed his eyes, and then began to search for Milo's cosmos. He smiled when he felt the gold saint was near, _/Milo… are you near enough to give me a hand?/ _

_/Tenma… light speed, remember?/ _

Tenma almost wanted to hit himself for forgetting that. _/Right…/ _

_/But didn't you say you want to do this alone, you even didn't allow me to go with you on the briefing!/ _Because Tenma wanted to deal with the officer himself, and he doubted Milo being there would help since he was a kid too in their eyes.

Tenma snorted, _/Because I need you to keep an eye on John Black, this guy probably will try to stop me from fighting the rogue trainee or worse get killed when getting on the way./ _

_/And this rogue trainee?/ _Milo asked.

_/You think I can be defeated by this saint-wannabe? And it's unlikely he will take me seriously, or you for that matter… /_ Their target was a twenty years rogue old trainee, and because of special circumstances it was unlikely he was aware of politic condition in sanctuary. Tenma doubted this rogue trainee recognized any of gold saints.

_/Yeah yeah… this saint-wannabe according to our file was a trainee from isolated training ground that almost forgotten…/ _

_/We had already forgot./_ Tenma corrected.

Milo snorted, _/Right… And when we checked that training ground few years ago we found out that all trainees had been wiped out by this wannabe saint, thinking that proving himself as the strongest trainee would grant him a cloth. Seriously… we are saints of Athena, that alone says slaughtering not going to grant you a cloth. At this rate we have to teach our trainees that Athena is goddess of wisdom, war, craft, etc when it suppose to be a knowledge that as common as ABC in our rank. Some trainees should be Ares' berserkers instead if they insisted to fight like barbarian. / _A pause, _/When we think of it… this is another mishap in my department, and we are trying to cover it up with killing the culprit./ _

_/Imagine what that bastard Gigas would do if he knew…/_ Tenma growled angrily, _/I didn't blame you Milo, there is a good reason why there are two gold saints in charge of that department. We have thousands of peoples under our control all over the world plus another thousands of pawns, we can't keep an eye on all of them./ _

_/Heh… and Gigas have been looking for opportunities to strike from Aiolia's side and mine because we are the easiest targets who prone to make mistakes!/ _

_/Milo… no need to be snappy, nobody blame you or Aiolia about Kido's sons or this wannabe saint. They are humans, and so are we… / _

_/Thank you Tenma, but back to your mission… what is the plan?/ _

Tenma rolled his eyes to John Black, _/Keep him save… that's all./ _

"Pegasus? You are spacing out…"

"I am not, I was talking to the voice on my head." Tenma said nonchalantly, blissfully ignoring John Black's sputtering about it was not healthy for a kid to have imaginary friend.

_/Oi! Tenma! Tell him to throw that heavy suit away./_ Milo said.

_/Why? I can't protect him from radiation when fighting!/_

_/You think he can escape quick enough with all of that?/_ Milo pointed out with incredulous tone. _/Let me take care of your friend in case he has to leave your protection./ _

_/Fine!/_ Tenma turned to his companion, "Mr. John Black…"

"Yes?"

"Take off that suit, I believe you will not leave me farther than six feet radius. It would be more comfortable for you to move around without it too…" That was a very cheap reason to convince this man to take off his protection suit, but Milo was right.

John Black in the other hand was oblivious he beamed at Tenma. "Good! I think we can work with that!"

**Greece, Milos Island**

"Retsu!" A silver saint called to the forest, where he stood near the entrance. "Hurry up!" He was one of the second strongest ranks in Athena's army, he had short blond hair that resemble of Crystal saint and deep blue eyes. His cloth was colored blue and white.

A boy jumped off of a tree and landed before his master. "Yes Master Noesis!" The boy was the newest bronze saint, he had reddish brown hair and brown eyes. His cloth was lynx, a light brown bronze cloth. "I am sorry…"

Triangle Noesis smiled at his young charge, "Retsu… have confidence in yourself, you are a saint now…"

Retsu looked down sheepishly, "Yes Master Noesis… " Then his eyes darted at the tail of his cloth, a bane of his pride. "Hic…"

Noesis didn't know what to say to erase his disciple's embarrassment over the cute look of Lynx cloth. "Retsu… drop it, nobody cares about your tail." Retsu had been sulking since Misty came to their training ground; he was on the way to his mission and dropped by to pass their mission letter. The Lacerta saint had commented how cute Retsu was with the tailed cloth. Noesis knew Misty was being honest and had no intent of mocking Retsu, but the boy felt his pride as a man had been injured with the cute comment.

"But… I am sure my cloth is the most embarrassing looking one among 88 cloths." He muttered under his breath but Noesis could hear it, "And maybe in Holy war I can win because my opponent is too busy laughing at my cloth."

Sadly Noesis could imagine that happened to his disciple, he had raised Retsu since he was a baby and the boy was quite talented. But in the other hand the Lynx saint was so clumsy and timid. "Retsu… that's not true."

"What is not true?" Retsu asked curiously.

"That Lynx cloth is not the cutest or rather… the most embarrassing cloth one could get." Noesis knew it was a low thing to say, especially because he knew Daidalos and Senel would never ever forgive him if they knew, "My friend Daidalos is training three boys for Andromeda, Cassiopeia, and Piscis Austrinus cloth."

Retsu blinked, "Andromeda and Cassiopeia are girl constellation right?"

"Retsu… not girl constellation, but constellation of woman figure…" Noesis corrected.

The Lynx saint wondered what's the difference, but then again his master was very smart. "Uhm… then what's so embarrassing about it? Virgo saint is a man right?"

Noesis shrugged, "Yes… but these three cloth at first designed for female saints, and then modified to fit male as they were more qualified male than female."

Retsu was still confused, if it was modified from female cloth to male cloth what was so embarrassing about it? "Then?"

"According to record, the shape of cloth couldn't be changed too drastically, it will disturb overall balance of the cloth." The Triangle saint explained, "In which they leave the chest plate as it was…"

The young Lynx saint blushed deep red, "Bu… but… but, if it was cloth for female…"

"Yes…" Triangle Noesis almost grinned at hilarious expression Retsu had on his face, "Poor them, and Andromeda cloth… it's pink from head to toe."

"8X*&^%$#!" Retsu would forever grateful that his cloth only had tail and not breastplate and pink!

"Retsu… stop being so hysterical! We have to meet our teammate for this mission!" The silver saint reminded his disciple, but on the inside Triangle Noesis was grinning.

**Andromeda Island **

**"ACHOO!" **Shun, Leda and Spica sneezed in the same time.

June raised an eyebrow at them, "Sneezing in such a hot day?"

In the other hand Daidalos had sudden urge to strangle certain Triangle saint, "Summer cold?" He guessed, that urge must be just a feeling. His friend Noesis was not Gardna who had quirk of annoying him in daily basis.

**Three-mile island, Nuclear reactor **

John Black never believed in spiritual nonsense, but the sight of aura that protected him from radiation convinced him otherwise. He started to think Pegasus might be some kind of alien or wizard; he chuckled at the ridiculous thought. He almost lost it when Pegasus raised an eyebrow at him and he assured the boy it was nothing. The boy then grumbled about him being hypocrite, it seemed Pegasus was not happy he thought the boy had an imaginary friend on his head. When it was not healthy to have imaginary friend he thought it was childishly normal of Pegasus.

When the boy stopped on his track John Black caught Pegasus eyes narrowed, he gasped as it alarmed him. His eyes turned to where the Pegasus saint was looking; they had arrived in the reactor core but there was nothing here. "Brace yourself John Black!" For the first time the boy didn't address him with mister, and before he knew it Pegasus had moved right in front of him as if prepared to shield him from harm.

"What the…"

BOOM!

Something had blew off the shutter to the core, John Black almost panicked when Tenma was swallowed by mist of dust. The boy was still by his side but unseen in the mid of mist because of his small body. When the mist was cleared John Black caught a silhouette of a figure in the mid of dust, it was a man that dressed in Greek armor. The Greek was blond with murderous blue eyes that screamed insanity, even in one room with him felt suffocating.

A human! John Black gasped in disbelief, how this man could survive in the mid of that explosion? Unless…

"I see… a saint…" The terrorist muttered in disdain, his eyes glaring murderously.

"What?" The negotiator asked in disbelief and confusion.

He scoffed, "How could you enter this place without protection? You must be a saint too." He said as eyeing John Black like a hungry predator.

John Black resisted to ask why the man thought he was a saint, especially because the man was no saint with that questioned sanity of his. "I am sorry… but I have no idea what are you talking about." John Black tried to begin a negotiation, "I am a negotiator, and I am here to hear your claim. There is no need to waste time, just state your demand."

The armored man growled deeply, "I just want one thing… a DUEL with a saint!"

"A duel?" John Black repeated his demand incredulously.

The rogue trainee scowled, "I see… you are just an ordinary human, how could you understand my demand?" He wondered out loud with a sneer. "Saints… are true warrior with power of God! Warrior whose fist could rend the sky and kick that could split the ground!" He boasted with a smirk, "I am too… have this…"

"Enough!" A voice echoed mightily.

A swirl of cosmos cleared the mist of dust, revealing a young boy with hardened eyes. Tenma narrowed his eyes at the rogue trainee, "You have no honor or right to call yourself as a saint… "

"Pegasus?" John Black called him.

Tenma turned his eyes to him, "Stay back!" He hissed, and then turned his attention back to the armored man. "Now… what is this about duel? Do you have any idea what did you have done?"

"Huh! Off course!" He muttered as he rammed his fist to machine and pipes around him, rampaging furiously like a mad man he was. John Black stammered in disbelief as he was exposed to power beyond his comprehension. "I have challenged many people like me." Tenma scoffed as he recalled this man had killed all trainees from his training ground, "And I have killed them…" He muttered as his eyes blazed in fury, "But sanctuary won't accept me! They banned me from their rank before I become a saint! I have nothing to proof my power as a saint! No honor nor a cloth!"

This man had lost it, he was mad with power. Tenma observed him rampaging with calculative eye, wondering what this man had in mind. "Is that so? Then what you hope to achieve from this madness?"

He smirked, "I will destroy this reactor, and earth will suffer…" He droned, "Saints will come to stop me, and when I kill them… I will prove that I deserved to be a saint! So get out of my way!"

Tenma's eyes widened when that man gathered his cosmos, ready to launch an attack. Tenma scowled when John Black hugged him to shield him, the Pegasus saint summoned his cloth just in time for it to shield them. John Black blinked in disbelief when he found he was unharmed and a steed made of steel hovered before him.

"What the…"

Tenma rolled his eyes, "Excuse me… can you save your question for later and let go of me?" He asked in annoyed tone.

The blond man released his hold, embarrassed at his failed attempt to protect the boy. "Ah…"

The rogue trainee in the other hand looked amazed and too happy for John Black's liking, if anything that man looked madder than ever. "A saint!"

Tenma ignored the man who seemed elated at the fact, "Pegasus… come, sheath my body!" He ordered and the cloth disassembled to armor that covered his body. "Well then… "

He laughed, "A child! But a saint no less! Sanctuary allowed a child like you to wear a cloth but not me!"

The Pegasus saint narrowed his eyes at the rogue trainee, "I am Pegasus saint, and I am your executioner…"

John Black gasped in disbelief, what was this child talking about? "Pegasus what are you…" His voice was muffled when someone covered his mouth; he was panic but calmed down when a man hushed from his left.

He turned his face a little, startled when he found a blue haired boy with mischievous grin. "Yo! Just be quiet old man!"

The negotiator was ticked, OLD MAN? He was twenty five! But his attention was caught when he heard that man roared at Tenma, "Execute me? A child like you?"

"You have killed fellow trainees in cold blood, that's unforgiveable sacrilege to Athena and sanctuary. And here you attempt to endanger earth for such a petty reason to prove yourself…" Tenma hissed in anger, "How pathetic!"

"Silence!" He roared furiously.

John Black struggled against Milo's hold, growling at the Scorpio saint. "Let me go kid! What is this mess with saint and cloth? Whatever it is, you let a child fighting an insane terrorist?" He asked in disbelief, "And you are a kid too!"

Milo rolled his eyes, "Well sorry pal… can you please shut up, or I will just knock you out~"

He ignored the threat, "And whatever organization you are in, is that organization ordered kids like you to kill criminals?

"That's none of your business old man." Milo droned.

"I am twenty five! I am not old!" John Black protested.

"AARGH!"

The pained scream caught their attention; John Black trembled at the sight of that rogue trainee's glowing hand that Tenma caught. He cringed at the sound of cracking bone when Tenma broke that man's arm, "Pegasus…"

The rogue trainee pushed Tenma away but he stepped back to distance himself, the older man lunged at Tenma again and this time using his mobile hand, ready to launch a cosmos attack, Tenma narrowed his eyes as he stepped aside then launched a small cosmos bullet that hit that man's right shoulder. He yelped in pain but before he could recover Tenma had moved right in front of him, the Pegasus had delivered a punch right on his gut. He coughed out blood, pained yelp came out from his mouth.

He couldn't watch it anymore, he closed his eyes but opened it again when another pained scream echoed, much to his disbelief the terrorist had crashed to the metal wall and looked on the verge of death. The Pegasus saint stood before the crippled man, not even a scratch marred his body. The Pegasus saint was about to deal a finishing blow, John Black screamed as he couldn't bear to see a child killing, it was not right! But then everything turned black and the last sight he saw was blinding light from Tenma's fist and a shout of the boy that thundering through his eardrums.

"PEGASUS! RYU-SEI-KEN!"

Sore, he felt tired and sore for some reason. The smell of antiseptic also didn't help, his eyes widened when he guessed where he was. A hospital? He sat up hastily, and he found himself in medical and a nurse rushed to his bed. "Sir? Are you alright?"

"Huh?" He was not all right, he felt someone had split his head open and messing with his brain. "I guess…"

"Ah… thank goodness, you passed out Sir." She informed the transactor.

His eyes widened in disbelief, "Miss, what happened to the reactor? The terrorist? The boy who come with me?"

The Nurse looked shocked then relaxed, and John Black brace himself for a bad news. She smiled at him, "Sir… rest assured, our army had managed to secure the reactor and they assured that the everything would be fixed as soon as possible."

He breathed a sigh of relief, "And the terrorist?"

She gulped, "Uhm… you don't remember Sir?"

"I don't." He shook his head.

She looked uneasy to tell him but she obliged in the end, "He committed suicide Sir." John Black gasped in disbelief, was that what happened? How could he have no recollection at all? "That horrible man must had realized what he was doing is futile, you passed out when that man killed himself… that was what the officer who brought you here said." She explained tentatively, "As for a boy… uhm… the officer also said if you ask, the boy have returned to his country. And you are asked to report back to their secretary for official matter…"

John Black groaned, he felt restless and wrong. There was something missing but what? "Thank you…"

She smiled at him, "You are welcome sir, but… may I ask something? I hope it's not rude of me to ask… but… my friends insist."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "It's fine, what is it?"

The nurse giggled at him giddily like a schoolgirl then she asked, "What is the brand of rose perfume you wore Sir? It smells nice, it must be expensive!"

He gaped at him and without a word sniffed the sleeve of his shirt, looking for the scent he was sure not his. He always sprayed some cologne but today he had no time for that when the call of this case came and he hated rose! "I smelt like that?" He asked in disbelief.

"Sir? You have been sleeping for hours, when you came the scent of rose was so faint… I am sure it's gone now…" She pointed out with confused tone.

"Oh…" John Black scratched the back of his head sheepishly, what was going on?

Milo hummed as he tossed a small vial to the air then caught it again, "This is a good stuff." He grinned.

Tenma rolled his eyes, they were on the way to entrance of Twelve Temples. "Careful! That's a very strong potion that could erase memory; it would be fatal if you broke the vial. Aphrodite has warned us, didn't he?"

The Scorpio saint scoffed, "Yeah he did… but I don't know he invent nice stuff like this once in a while, very handy…"

Tenma shrugged, "That's perfume made from the newest species of Pisces' rose he created." Tenma informed him, "Burgundy rose of Pisces called Forlorn Rose, the scent will cause you mildly forgetful so not really useful in battle but the perfume is another case… it's very potent." He snorted, "Nasty stuff…"

The Scorpio saint cringed, "And what about that truth serum stuff he tried to make?" He asked as cringed at the memory of firsthand experienced becoming Aphrodite's lab rat.

Tenma shrugged, "That's still in progress he said, but Dite got something with similar effect… purple rose, it made people hallucinating. Even more dangerous than drugs."

"Is it really okay he is allowed to experiment with this dangerous stuff? Since the age of myth Pisces saint only used three kind of roses! And Aphrodite keep inventing new species like this… so you think… "

The Pegasus saint shrugged, "Milo… I know, it's like breaking tradition but leave Dite alone, will you?" He pleaded, "Beside… I think it's fine if Dite want to be stronger, holy war is just ahead… and he is our best defensive line."

"Yeah…" He paused, "Tenma… you know that Aphrodite is different from other Pisces saint right?"

He hummed, "About his blood? Unable of using his blood as weapon doesn't mean he is weaker than his predecessor."

Milo groaned, "It's not what I mean…

"But he surely don't want to be less reliable because of it, I guess that's why he keep creating new species of rose…" Tenma muttered.

"Not for pranking us?" Milo grinned.

The Pegasus saint laughed, "No… off course not…"

"Tenma…"

"Hm?"

"Are you sad?"

Tenma tensed, his laughter died. Milo was asking about John Black for sure, and also about his first-kill. The thought of that insane man was willing to sacrifice many peoples for his own selfish ambition helped to make Tenma felt less guilty for taking his life, but still guilty nonetheless. That made him happy because if he didn't feel anything, he was no saint of Athena. Yes they were warrior; they took lives but never for their own selfishness. John Black however, he was another problem. He had been involved into their world. He gritted his teeth, John Black might have forgotten what happened in the reactor plant but… he might remember what happened later. And if that happened… WHY? Why he hesitated to knock John Black out? What possessed him to think even for a moment John Black might be able to negotiate with that rogue trainee? He was such a fool!

"Oi!"

Tenma blinked when he felt Milo's hand perched on his head, "Eh?"

Milo rolled his eyes, "It seems you spent too much time around thinker like Camus and Shaka…" He shook his head, "Don't beat yourself over what happened today, what's done is done…"

"Milo…" Tenma growled.

"Tenma… I will not let anyone from our rank to kill civilian just because they saw a few things. We gold saints… will never allow our people to fall that low…" Milo assured the younger saint, "And I don't think John Black is a type of man who will blab something that's obviously a secret normal people better of not knowing… "

"Uhm…" Tenma blushed deep red, "Wow… you _sounds_ so mature Milo."

The Scorpio saint was ticked, "What did you say?"

Tenma had sprinted pass Milo and running to the nearest temple, his laughter echoed and filled the night in sanctuary. "Catch me if you can Milo!"

"Oh yeah? Wait for me pony boy!" Milo yelled furiously as he ran after his little brother.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Himalaya, Jamir

Mu teleported to the lifeless part of Jamir market, his feet landed silently on one of the piled wooden box. The Aries saint hoped nobody would be mad he stepped on their property as he hopped off to the ground, looking around for any unwanted prying eyes. Sensed no one around Mu quickly strolled through the lifeless alley, and off to the crowded market place of Jamir.

A spice vendor called him and that almost made him jumped on the spot. "Lord Mu! At last I see you here!" He cheered.

Mu looked to the right, startled when he found a familiar Indian man. "Soma?"

Soma was an Indian with dark skin just like Agni, her hair was deep shade of purple with red bindi on his forehead. His gray eyes shone with excitement as he waved his hands, inviting the Aries saint to come. "I know I will see you here one day in Jamir!" He beamed as holding Mu's hands on his, and then shaking it in enthusiasm to the point Mu thought his hands would come off. "Off course I will! This is your home he he he!" He grinned sheepishly.

"Soma? Why you are here?" Mu asked curiously, thankful his hands were intact. The Aries saint hadn't see the Indian for years since he came to India training ground to see Shaka before his master's death.

Soma raised an eyebrow then motioned to various spices that arranged neatly on his shop. "I am selling spices for cooking! Especially godsend culinary Curry!"

Mu chuckled sheepishly at Soma's exclamation; he was always energetic and full of life. It was a wonder how Shaka can tolerate Soma's and Agni's antics for years without killing them, but then again deep down Shaka cared a great deal of his retainers. "I see… but why you didn't go with Shaka to Sanctuary?" Mu asked calmly, trying to not wince when asking. "And where is Agni?"

Soma's eyes widened, "Lord Shaka didn't tell you?"

Crap! Mu cursed silently on his mind, he had done that a lot since his master passed away. "Uhm… we are busy in the last few years, he is in Sanctuary mostly when my post is still in Jamir… you knows as blacksmith I should stay in Jamir."

The Indian knew there was something deep behind this, but he was nobody so why pry into it? "I see… and about me for short, I got married three years ago so Lord Shaka had me to keep an eye on our temple in Uttar-Pradesh-Kusinagara."

"Eh?" That didn't make any sense! Mu knew Shaka had ordered all monks to leave the temple for another with better living condition years ago. But that was no reason to leave his trusted retainer there, watching an empty temple no less. "What for?"

He smiled at the young Lemurian, his hand dug to a sack full of coriander seeds. "Well… rather than what for, Lord Shaka send me away because…"

Mu cut Soma in before he could stop himself, "Because? What happened in sanctuary? Is there… an internal conflict?" If Soma was involved, and if it caused by racism Shaka would be the first target as he was the only Asian gold saint in Sanctuary.

Soma blinked then his face turned sad, "Rest assured… Lord Mu, my master merely concerned if my wife, Parvati stay in servant compound when I served him in Virgo temple…" He paused, "Will not work well in my part."

The Aries saint almost hit himself for forgetting that married couple is not allowed to live together in 12 temples, and retainers of gold saints rarely left the temple to serve their master. "Ah… so that's why."

"Yes… that and Lord Shaka also think it's not safe to leave Parvati alone, racism in sanctuary is not died out yet." Soma shook his head, "As you know my lord… I am weak, and when Agni can protect himself… this Soma who can't protect himself… how could he protect his wife?"

Mu cringed at that, Soma was always the inferior one compared to Agni even though Shaka seemed careless about it, but they were both equally loyal to him after all. "I see… it must be hard for you but why you are in Jamir?"

Soma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Ah… Parvati is staying with her parents for a few weeks because my mother in law is ill, I am feeling lonely so… I decided to try selling my spices somewhere else in a whim." That was a very Soma answer, Mu thought amusedly. "And here I am… this Soma suddenly reminded of you, young master Mu… eh I mean Lord Mu, and decided I will go to Jamir!"

Mu chuckled softly, the last time he met Soma the Indian retainer called him that way and not Lord. "It's fine… I am thirteen, by all rights you can call me young." He paused, "It must be hard to leave Shaka and Agni…"

He nodded, "Well… Agni did visit me once in a while though Lord Shaka seems to be buried under paperwork most of the time but he still spare generous amount of time for training and meditation." At that Mu felt guilty, to the rest for gold saints his age to be exact as he was the only one who had not touch paperwork since he was seven. "I also miss young master Te…Ooops I mean…"

Mu was spacing out but snapped back to reality, trying to rewind what Soma said. "Huh? Which young master?" He did recall Soma was talking about someone else; a name he knew wasn't belonged to anyone from gold saint rank. Soma never called Shaka young master since he became gold saint, so who was it?

"Oh! I am talking about young master who become the candidate for Sagitarius gold cloth, he is such a sweet child!" Soma cooed at the memory, he loved children very much so he wished God would give him children soon. "I wonder how he is now~"

Mu's eyes widened, he opened his mouth then closed it again. Since WHEN someone was trained to take over Aiolos' place? And HOW come he and Roushi never heard of it before? "Thi… this child…" Mu struggled to calm himself, "Who is he?" Mu didn't meant it as a demand but he was having trouble to control himself, one thing that didn't come easily when he was gold candidate and that habit seemed to resurface.

Fortunately Soma was Shaka's retainer so he was not easily frightened, he even didn't notice. "Eer… eh? Young master is adopted child of our Pope, he was trained to be the next Sagittarius saint since he was young… just like you Lord Mu." He said cheerfully, completely oblivious to Mu's shocked expression. "He is such an amazing child Lord Mu, thanks to him Lord DeathMask swore to never kill innocents and instead went for big criminals all over the world! Like a hero!"

It's official and Aries Mu broke on the spot as his mind gears stopped working at the last news. He knew that in the last few years many high-class criminals were eliminated by DeathMask, Mu thought the Cancer saint was only looking for a challenge. That was good and all but WHY he swore not to kill innocent people? And this child who become Aiolos's replacement convinced DeathMask to do that?

Soma stared at Mu's face, squinting his grey eyes at the Lemurian. "Oh yes… Lord Shaka and other gold saints also looked like that when they heard Lord DeathMask will only go after criminals."

"They did?" Mu asked absentmindedly.

"Yes… they even did some experiments in case they were dreaming, well…"

Flashback/ 3 years ago (side story chapter1)

_"Anyone… are you sure Hypnos is not playing a prank on us? Or maybe he tried to make us insane before holy war?" Shura asked with dazed face, "If he is the culprit, seriously… if he repeat this again at least twice I don't think I can hold on my sanity…"_

_Aiolia was more absurd; "Shaka… today is not April Fool's day so we get to kill you, if you are the one behind this illusion!" He accused the Virgo saint who glared at him in return._

_Milo nodded in agreement, "Never mind that! Even if it's April Fool's day, I will still kill you!"_

_Shaka opened his eyes dangerously, and all gold saints backed away. "I AM **NOT** involved in this sick joke! And if this is an illusion I will know it right away! Who am I do you think? I am not MILO!"_

_"HEY!" Milo snapped, "As much I likes prank… I will not involve Tenma in this! It's just sick! And not about DeathMask being a hero!"_

_Camus shook his head, "Anyway… so everyone agreed to decide this is just a dream?"_

_Everyone looked at him as if he had grown second head, since when Camus agreed to illogical theory? "Okay…" Aiolia coughed, "If we agree this is just a dream then what?"_

_Aldebaran rubbed his head, "Traditional way to prove this is a reality or dream… pinching."_

_So they formed a circle to pinch each other hand, it was hurt. And then they pinched their face, much to Aphrodite's protest and it's hurt too. In the end they formed a group of two and three, and then punched each other right on their stomachs. And at once all of them fell flat on their butt._

_"This is not a dream…" Aldebaran concluded as holding his gut painfully, who knew Shaka's punch can be that hurt?_

_Aphrodite snarled at him, "I knew it's not since we pinched our hands! You don't have to pinch my beautiful face!" He said as rubbed the red spot on his cheeks, more concerned about his face rather than throbbing pain on his stomach after Shura punched him._

_Retainers of Shaka namely Agni and Soma were watching the scene from Leo temple in amazement, they were looking for their master since he suddenly left his office without a word after Aphrodite called him via telepathy. They were worried because Lord Shaka looked so shocked, a very rare expression he wore. But they didn't expect gold saints were having a 'private' moment, a rare moment when nobody should watch them having their childish or ridiculous activity for the sake of dignity. Thus the two Indian retainers ran back to Virgo temple ignoring certain Pegasus's cheerful greetings as he passed them jumpily. _

"And that's what happened~"

Mu thought that was a very perfect time to faint, especially when he heard Camus and Shaka of all people agreed what happened that day was a mass-dreaming that might be work of Hypnos to torture them before holy war. Though faced with that kind of situation would make him think that was possible, and he _really_ wanted to faint now just for the sake of the absurdity.

** /Mu! What take you so long?/ **

The Aries saint looked up, startled at the voice that invaded his mind. **/Oh, what time is it now? … I am late?/ **

**/That's obvious, you supposed to be here ten minutes ago!/** The voice sounded mildly annoyed.

**/Wait a sec… I will be there in five minutes/ **Then he turned to Soma, "I am sorry but I have an appointment, so… see you again later Soma." He said as walked away in hurry.

Soma nodded, "Yes Lord Mu, farewell…"

Three minutes later…

Mu crouched down as holding his head, ignoring the murmuring passerby who thought he was a weirdo. HOW the hell he forget to ask the name of that young master Soma was talking about? He sighed wearily; at least he could go back to Soma's shop later after he finished. And with that Mu departed to his destination.

He arrived in another secluded part of the market, a narrow alley that barely fit for one adult to walk through. After that was another crowded road, he looked up as his eyes locked to a bar sign where written Chomolangma. He entered the bar warily, he would never ever used to come to place that smelt strongly of alcohol. The bartender smiled at him then silently formed secret code with his hands, _'Upstairs, third room from the left.' _

Mu nodded then without a word strolled through drunken customers, hopefully nobody noticed him. The last time he came here, a customer thought he was a girl and tried to woo him. That was the most embarrassing moment in his life, he though wryly as walked through the creaking stairs. "Hum…" He hummed, "Third room… this one."

He entered with an old key that had been given a few days ago when the invitation came. He entered the room, it was old but cozy. Mu locked the room with a click then turned around, examining the room before his eyes locked to a wardrobe. When he opened it off course it was empty, once again he took out another key. The key was shaped like a coin where a ring carved inside, and three lines protruded from the inner ring to the edge. It was the map of their forgotten homeland. His fingers brushed against the inside of wardrobe, he smiled when he found a circle hole the key could fit in.

"Here we go." said he as the coin shaped key was pushed to the hole firmly and the inside of wardrobe turned to scenery of a tunnel. Mu hopped on to the tunnel then turned back and whispered 'seal' in Lemurian. And with that the young Aries saint sprinted through the dim tunnel, which only lighted by torches.

Mu smiled nervously when he saw a man was waiting for him with crossed arms on the end of the tunnel; back leaning against the wall casually. "Long time no see err…" Mu was at a lost of word at furious face.

The man was blond with sharp brown eyes and tanned skin, with two lemurian marks above his eyes. He was taller than Mu by few inches, with shoulder length hair tied neatly around his neck. "What is holding you Mu?"

"I met an old friend of mine…" At his narrowed eyes Mu held his hands up, "Really Ishai! I didn't mean to be late!"

"Off course!" Ishai almost growled to the younger Lemurian, then he handed a white long cloth to Mu. "Now… put that on."

Mu looked at the white cloth on his hand sadly, "Ah…"

He yelped when Ishai poked his forehead right between his mark, "Don't give me that look Mu, this is your choice… and when you swore your loyalty to Athena you vowed…" Ishai trailed off.

"I will not regret my decision to follow Master Shion's footstep, that I betrayed the God of Lemurian… protector of lost continent Mu for Goddess Pallas Athena…" Mu continued as calm as he could, reciting his vow when he took possession of Aries cloth. Then without a word he tied the said cloth to cover his eyes, "Lead the way Ishai."

Ishai nodded as he took Mu's right hand, even though Mu couldn't see it. "Come… and careful, there are slippery ground around here."

"Yes."

Mu couldn't see anything nor felt the cosmos around him, he knew they were walking in a maze like underground cave. The air smelt funny after all these years breathing in cold fresh air of Jamir, he almost forgotten this part of cave had no air circulation running. Unconsciously his hand went to touch the wall of the cave, the next second Mu almost yelped when he felt Ishai was holding the other hand of his too.

Ishai gritted his teeth angrily, "MU! You are not allowed to touch the wall…" He hissed, "You might didn't mean to do anything, but if you as much as accidentally made a dent with your hand… you could be accused marking the way to the sacred city!"

Mu withdrew his hand hastily; looked dejected Ishai took such precaution to his own race. He might be a traitor but this was too much, "How could you accuse me… of such thing?"

"I am not!" Ishai objected, "Please Mu… you know why the rest of Lemurian other than blacksmiths are hiding here since the age of myth!" He said as tugged Mu's arm so they could continue their journey.

He clenched his fist, biting his lower lip in sadness. "I know… I am sorry…" Another tug, they will quicken their pace.

"This Ishai understand…" He trailed off, and then shook his head. "On second thought I don't… and I won't try because to understand you it would require this Ishai to lost a father and shunned by my comrades… " He shook his head again, "Seriously Mu! What Athena have done for you that make you this stupidly loyal to her? You… Shion… and the rest of blacksmith folk!"

Mu frowned at that, "You will never understand just like how you will never understand my pain…" Said Mu calmly but there was a tint of anger in his voice. "You are not me… and neither you a saint of hers."

The Aries saint could tell from the slight shake on his hand that Ishai was shaking his head again, "And I prefer it to be that way…" He muttered then looked up, "Hey… you could open that blindfold now… we are here." Said Ishai as he released his hold on Mu's hand.

Mu didn't waste another second as he untied the knot of the blindfold as fast as he could. And when his green eyes opened, nostalgic feeling filled heart warmly. White buildings arranged neatly in radial array with a tall tower in the centre, twelve tall pillars encircled the said tower. The centre of the city was located in the highest ground, making the city looks like a hill. And from the tower there were waterways that flowed with pure water, flowing to the lower level of the city as beautiful waterfall.

**Hidden City of Lemuria**

**Ark of Etansel**

It felt like his throat was going dry at the sight of his old home, his homeland he lived less than one third of his life. But… it was still as precious as tower of Jamir and Sanctuary for him. "I… am… " No! This was no longer your home Aries saint. "Miss this place…"

"Mu…" Ishai started, "You can always…"

"NO!" Mu almost yelled, glaring at the older Lemurian, "I will not break my vow to Master Shion and Athena! I will bring it to my grave!"

Ishai sighed wearily, "Well… seems like you are set, I will not bring it up again… so let's go…"

"Yes."

Etansel was sacred city of Lemurian, place that given to them when they begged the God for protection from Olympians. In the age of myth after Poseidon sunk the Mu continent, Lemurian race was split into two. Half of them went to hiding in Etansel, far from war and another half offered their service to Athena, wishing to right the injustice Poseidon had done to them. The wrath of Poseidon was brought upon them when the ruler of the sea found out the scale of his generals and Athena's saints were made by the same race. Poseidon thought Lemurian betrayed him, thus he sunk the entire continent. The first defeat he suffered from Athena's saint boiled his blood, and the ruler of the sea was always a temperamental God. There was no one who could stop Poseidon's wrath upon Continent of Mu because in the same time Gigantomachia war broke out. Athena and her saints had their hand full with giants.

The God of the sea however didn't expect there were survivors that managed to escape to Asia. Their numbers were barely five hundred; Lemurian was hardly a big race even at that age. The physic race off course wanted Poseidon to pay what they had lost; other than painful lose of their family they also lost their technology and their continent was the most advanced civilization in that era. But they knew Poseidon was a violent God, so the least they asked was a reason they had to be punished in such way. Lemurian didn't expect the answer they got from the god was he felt betrayed by them.

Lemurian declared that they was in neutral ground, they never sided with Athena or Poseidon in holy war. Lemurian created the cloths and scales under Athena's and Poseidon's order, and both deities paid the price. Lemurian never ever wanted to be involved in their holy war but they feared of angering Athena and Poseidon. Thus they declared to Poseidon, Lemurian never betrayed either Athena or Poseidon.

The God of the sea then pointed out Lemurian lived near the sea, thus they supposed to worship him. That he Poseidon was suppose to be their guardian god. Lemurian's answer made Poseidon's blood boiling in anger, they dared to object his guardianship and even said he was never considered their guardian God, they had worshipped another God. This brought the heat of war between Athena and Poseidon to the next level, and the world almost destroyed in the process.

Half of the Lemurian then decided to serve Athena, and became her blacksmith since then, they wished for Gods to treat human with justice just like Athena. Another half was sickened by war so they thought it would be better to bury all knowledge of alchemy that related to weapon forever. Conflict couldn't be avoided between the two, Lemurian who wished to fight for justice with Athena and another who wished to stay out of the war and live in peace. The conflict never reached to bloodshed, when both side reached an agreement. The half who wished to fight with Athena may go with her and form their own community in Jamir, but in exchange they were exiled from Ark of Etansel and only allowed to enter the city with an escort and blindfolded.

Athena herself couldn't find where the city was located, and the God of Lemurian protected the citizen well with barricade the city where not even cosmos could be detected from outside. The city of Etansel then called new motherland of Lemurian. When Shion was descendant of blacksmith like his master and Sage, Mu was a half. War had been harsh for centuries therefore Lemurian in Jamir had decreased drastically and few decided to return to Etansel leaving Jamir and Athena. Few of Etansel citizens like Mu in the other hand didn't wish to ignore holy war and the rest of the world.

Mu's mother was Etansel Lemurian and his father were from Jamir, and when both passed away Mu's guardianship went to Shion who was the only relative by blood he had left from his father side. Mu was given the choice to stay in Etansel as ordinary alchemist or with Shion as blacksmith; the child felt something urged him to go to Shion thus he chose the old Pope. Shion had never left Mu since then and showered his second disciple with love he deserved.

He was deeply saddened by Shion's death and had informed the elders of Etansel and his trusted acquaintances which including Ishai, he never hoped self-proclaimed peace lover Lemurian of Etansel to help him in any way but only out of duty to let them know they had lost Shion. As expected they held a ceremony for Mu's master but that's all, they had no wish to involve themselves with sanctuary.

Mu held no grudge though he was angered his race could be so ignorant of what the rest of this world would become if sanctuary fell. But even so he was still considered a child in Etansel society and sainthood didn't count. He was still under elder's guardianship, though allowed to live by himself in Jamir. So here he was accepting invitation from Etansel.

"I didn't expect… him of all people will call me out of blue." Said Mu with amused tone.

Ishai shrugged as they walked through the white pathway made of paving stone. "That old man is always weird… it must be the age!"

"Hush!" Mu warned him jokingly, "Not all people become weird as they become older, Master Shion was four times older than him but he wasn't weird." He would never ever use Roushi as example though.

The older Lemurian snorted, "Nah… old man is weird since he was young anyway." He muttered then stopped in front of a building that much bigger than the rest and had dome shaped roof. "Here is the library… man… I know our race loves knowledge but never in my mind to spend my old days in here." Ishai shook his head as entered the library with Mu in tow.

"Camus will…" Mu muttered without any doubt as looking around the library that probably very old but neat and clean. It was like a replica of library in Bluegrad, or rather the one in Bluegrad copied Lemurian library.

"But that boy…" Ishai began but someone cut him in.

"My disciple is no longer a boy the moment he took Aquarius gold cloth from this master of his." A serene voice echoed in the empty library, startling the two Lemurian. The one who interrupted was a Lemurian judged from signature mark on their forehead, he was old but his stature was regal just like a veteran warrior.

Ishai shrugged in response when Mu hastily kneeled before the old Lemurian, "Long time no see… Master Fenrir…"

Fenrir was a man that taller than average Lemurian, his hair was jet black that reached pass his waist with striking silver eyes. He dressed in similar fashion as the late Altar Hakurei with light and dark blue coloring. His eyes gazed at disciple of Shion calculatingly, "Don't kneel before me Aries Mu, and you are disciple of Pope Shion and a respectable gold saint… why a retired gold saint like me deserve this treatment?"

Mu rose slowly, "All of us gold saints have to respect master of our comrades like we do our own master…" He stated with a smile to the retired saint. "And as a disciple I have to honor my master's teaching, so the question suppose to be what reason this Aries Mu might have to not treating Master Fenrir with respect?"

Fenrir smirked then clapped his hands; "Well… you have beaten this Fenrir in verbal battle."

Mu blushed deep red, "I wasn't mean to…"

"Easy Mu…" Fenrir shook his head, "I am just joking…"

"Eh?"

"…"

He was joking? Mu screamed mentally, as that was the same as Camus joking. Fenrir was master of Camus and his demeanor was exactly the same as his disciple. Thus Aries Mu froze on the spot.

Fenrir sighed, "You don't have to react like that just because… I am capable to make a joke." He stated tonelessly, and then turned to Ishai. "And I am sure, you are not invited."

Ishai scoffed, "I am his escort for today."

The former Aquarius saint narrowed his eyes icily at younger Lemurian, "You can wait outside."

"Why should I listen to you old man?" Ishai growled.

"Respect your elders, and get out Ishai." Warned the Lemurian saint.

Ishai scoffed, "This is public library not yours! You are just the librarian!"

"Thus… I have rights to kick noisy humans out of library…" He retorted back, "Now get out…"

Ishai was seething; old man or not he felt like throwing all etiquette lessons he ever had out of the window. Screw elder has to be respected! "You…" He was startled when Mu pushed him to the exit of library, "HEY!"

"Ishai please!" Mu begged, "We need time to talk in private so please respect that."

It was not like he had any strength to stop Mu from pushing him out, Mu might be younger than he was but he was a saint! "Fine! But I will be waiting outside!" He growled angrily then stomped out of the library as fast as he could.

Mu shook his head, and then turned to the former saint of Aquarius. "Master fenrir… "

Fenrir approached the younger Lemurian, putting his hand on Mu's shoulder. Mu tensed a little when he felt how cold Fenrir's hand was, as cold as Camus'. "Let's go to my office then…" and with that they were teleported with a flash of light. They reappeared on the top floor of the library but not in an office and instead on an empty room with only one door. Mu looked around in confusion, he was never invited to Fenrir's office. In front of the door acknowledged by Mu was an ice statue of Ganymede pouring water from his jar.

Mu almost jumped in fright when the statue opened its eyes then asked, "Password?"

Fenrir didn't even looked up then answered, "Aquarius Camus, February 7th."

Mu gaped at the password he heard, the password was Camus and his birthday? The Aries saint shook his head frantically; this was not the time to be flabbergasted! Mu almost jumped in shock when Fenrir turned his cold eyes to him, when the statue moved away from the door and the door opened with a creaking sound.

"Erm…" He was at lost of word.

"Follow me…" Fenrir commanded as he entered his office followed by Mu.

Fenrir's office was a large circular room with many windows, with exception of a mahogany desk in the middle that full of stacked paper it was just like the lower level part of library. His office was also a private library, and a magnificent one at that for being private one. Mu wondered how happy Camus would be if he could visit his master. Mu shook his head at the thought; Camus would never be able to come here even if he wanted to.

Fenrir offered Mu the chair in front of his desk then sat on his, "I assume you are informed that in the last few months sanctuary seems to put more strain on their trainees?"

Mu nodded, "I heard every month trainees from all over the world would be gathered on first day, a tournament to gauge their progress." At that Fenrir leaned back against the backrest of his seat, sighing wearily. Mu smiled at the former Aquarius saint then added, "I heard it's Camus' idea… " The Aries saint refrained himself from laughing when he saw Fenrir's ears twitched.

"Mu… please, it was Camus and that Virgo Shaka who thought this up." He corrected tonelessly, "But anyway… what make me wonder is… why gold saints in sanctuary are so eager to increase their manpower?"

"Holy war?"

"Hopefully." Was Fenrir's curt answer.

Alright… that must be some hidden meaning behind all fuss of boosting their army's power, Mu thought at vague answer of Fenrir. First of all there were never desperate effort in increasing their power like his comrades did now, but then again it were Shaka and Camus in control of Sanctuary aside from the fake Pope. And he knew Shaka and Camus was actually the one who kept sanctuary running under the impersonator's name. So the question was what they were up to?

He looked up to face Fenrir, this man was Camus' master and just like Shion a master knew his/her disciple better than anyone. "Do you know that Camus and Shaka…" Mu began carefully.

"They are pulling the string of sanctuary? Off course I know… that they have control over that fake Pope? That something suspicious is going on in sanctuary?" Fenrir listed on tonelessly, "Yes… I know."

Mu gaped then closed his mouth again, "I should know… Camus will at least…"

Fenrir cut him in, "My disciple _will not_ tell even this master of his the slightest thing about current situation of sanctuary…"

Once again Aries Mu's jaw dropped at blatant statement Fenrir made, he did that a lot today. "But…"

The former Aquarius saint shook his head, "For your information Mu… I have, off course tried asking my disciple." He paused, "When I knew he would say… "It's none of your business master, stop sniffing around and you will live longer… your time have passed and let this generation did their history on their own." Fenrir quoted his disciple with amused tone.

Mu stammered, standing up as leaning his arms on the desk. "Bu.. but… did he just…"

"Threatening me?" The ice user asked, "In a way he did… but Camus probably meaning it as a warning."

He slumped back to his chair, shaking his head. "Master Fenrir…" Mu called him weakly, "What's going on in sanctuary? What Camus and Shaka are up to? And why the fake Pope…"

"It was Saga…"

Mu's eyes widened, "Saga?" His body shook at the name. The fake Pope was Saga? But how that can be? Saga was…

"I see Roushi is holding back this from you…" He nodded solemnly, "He might deem this would hurt you gravely"

He didn't hear Fenrir's voice anymore as he tried to wrap his mind of the possibility one of his trusted comrade, Saga of all people had killed his master. For Mu the oldest gold saintsof their generation, Saga and Aiolos were his older brother and leader. He knew that deep down the killer of his master was bound to be someone he knew… he knew Saga was the prime suspect! But…

But… for Saga, of all people for him to betray Aiolos in the worse possible way. His comrades… this… this sacrilege to Athena and Sanctuary…

**PRANG! CRACK! PRANG! **

Unforgiveable!

**PRANG!**

"MU!" Fenrir shouted furiously, startling the young Aries saint.

His eyes went wide as he looked around, startled when he found the office was in shipwreck mess. He had lost control over his telekinesis! Mu turned his attention back to Fenrir, his lips quivered as he saw cold fury on the former Aquarius saint's eyes. "Master… Fenrir… I…"

"Sit down Aries Mu!" Fenrir barked, "I don't remember Pope Shion ever took a softhearted fool as his disciple!"

His whole body felt numb as he slumped back lifelessly to his chair, eye widened in fear as locked to the floor. "I… I…"

Fenrir shook his head then opened his mouth, "A gold saint… knight who shoulder the highest authority in our rank, we should never let ourselves to be misled by feeling nor shows exasperation…" He paused as Mu's breathing calmed down, "For a warrior of hope to fall in such weakness…"

The Aries saint gulped, he had heard Fenrir said this again and again like a mantra since they were trainees. "We will draw people to despair…" Mu continued grimly. Camus as Fenrir's disciple was the perfect epitome of this phrase, he was prim, noble, calm and rational.

Mu gripped the fabric of his pants tightly, gritting his teeth. _'Camus is unlike me… he is everything his master hoped him to be, when I…" _Mu shook his head, he promised his master to be just him and not comparing himself with other gold saints. He was…

"I am understand you are enraged."

Mu looked up, startled Fenrir suddenly sounded gentler and didn't reprimand him for his outburst. "Eh?"

"But Mu… when Saga as a saint has committed the worse sacrilege… that boy… " Fenrir shook his head before corrected, "That man, he suffered the most…"

"What do you mean?" Mu felt his anger washed away from his heart slowly, it was there but rational part of his was in control now.

"Curse of Gemini saint…" Fenrir muttered. "I will explain about what I know to you… and then it's up to you to do what you will with it."

He froze then stammered, "What…"

"Since the age of myth Gemini saints were cursed…" He began tentatively, "Nobody know why but… especially those who wear the cloth in holy war were prone to be unstable in mind, and as far as the record goes… suicide, schizophrenia, insanity…" He shook his head in remorse, "The list is endless."

Mu gulped, "Master… you didn't mean Gemini cloth is cursed or anything like, do you?" He didn't want to think that was possible, cloth were the highest form of alchemy and smithing. It was their pride and Mu couldn't stand the thought of something sacred such as a gold cloth might harm its wearer.

"Perhaps… but it might be not the cloth alone, and I hardly find speculating without proper research could give appropriate result." Fenrir intoned calmly, "And I suspect what I have already known by them."

The Aries saint gasped, his eyes widened as realization hit. "Shaka and Camus… "

He nodded sagely, "I bring up this because… it's Camus who contacted me not long ago, he asked if Lemurian keep records on Gemini saint and the cloth…" He paused, "And also if there was any record about first holy war with Hades that left here…"

The younger Lemurian was shocked Camus went that far for information, it was very risky of him to ask for information from his master. "But…" Mu paused, "What are they up to?"

Fenrir shrugged, "That's what I want to know… since my disciple, Camus only gave me one sentence." He paused, "A very vague and ambitious… nonetheless…"

"…"

**"To end holy war forever…"**

**Elysium **

Phantasos wondered what had landed him to do a concert with his brothers, oh yeah… they were trying to cheer their father and uncle up. The song they played was sad, mellow, and slow… Were they trying to cheer up of depressing their beloved father? Oh yeah… this song was their father's favorite.

"Enough…" Hypnos ordered them.

When Phantasos looked bored the rest of dream gods were depressed that their master seemed annoyed, "Bu… but… Lord Hypnos… we…"

All nymphs who danced following their tune had cowered in fear behind burgundy curtain of the room, Thanatos glared at them and the nature deities fled from the room. They loved the twin gods but when they were in bad mood, no one dared to meet their eyes, not even their sons dared.

Hypnos sighed wearily, "Sons…" There was only family left on the room so the god of slumber allowed himself to call the dream gods as his children, "Just leave… this is not a request." It was an order they were not allowed to refuse.

The gods of dream fell on their knees, stammering in chorus. **"Yes father…"** And with that they left the room obediently, leaving the twin gods alone.

When his sons were out of his sight Hypnos turned to Thanatos, "I hope you can forgive my son Phantasos." He stated.

Thanatos snorted, "That one son of yours always…" He shook his head, "He is your son and my nephew, and I will let this slip since it's not disadvantaging us in any way." Then he rolled his eyes to his twin, "I doubt I can blame Phantasos for his manipulative streak since he inherited it from someone." Said Thanatos as eyeing his twin with mirth on his silver eyes.

The god of slumber chuckled softly, "I will take that as a compliment brother…"

"It is…"

Ishai snapped his head up when he heard chime of bells echoed in Noah's arc, he looked up at the dome where Fenrir's office was. What the hell those two were talking about? They had spent hours in there! He looked back and forth from the library to the tower, he had to go to the tower but could he trust Mu to stay put here? He shook his head; off course he could trust Mu!

He took a deep breath then contacted the younger Lemurian via telepathy, _/Mu! I need to go to sacred tower now, old man Fenrir will know why I need to get there now. So stay where you are and don't even try to go anywhere before I come back here!/_

_/Eh? Why?/ _Mu asked in confusion.

_/Just asks old man Fenrir! I need to go now and don't call me with telepathy before you heard sacred bells chimes twelve times, understood?/ _

Mu blinked but before he could ask again Ishai had cut off their link and ran to the sacred tower in hurry. The Aries saint could feel all citizens of Etansel were gathered to the tower, he never remembered this ever happened when he was here, he even never heard sacred bells chiming!

"I only heard the bells twice since I came here…" Fenrir said as if he had read Mu's mind.

The Aries saint looked thoughtful for a while then asked, "But Master Fenrir… what happened in sacred tower? I remember that when I was little… no one allowed to enter the tower."

The former Aquarius saint shook his head, "Mu… I am a retired saint, when I am allowed to stay here doesn't mean the elders give me the same privilege as other Etansel citizen." His lips curved up slightly, "But rather than concerned what they were doing, we should figure out what my disciple and other gold saint in sanctuary are up to."

The Aries saint and Fenrir was in the middle of researching information Camus asked, trying to figure out what Camus wanted to gain from the said information. They had gathered some documents but none of it seemed close to what they thought was it. Mu browsed another pile of books and still nothing, most of information here was not new and he ever read the same books in sanctuary library.

Mu picked up books he had browsed and went to the shelve to return it, "Ng?" Mu was trying to push the book back but the book won't fit, he peeked on the small gap between books, blinking when he found a book that so much smaller inside. "There was something in here." He muttered as reached out to take it, he coughed because the book was dusty and the red cover was already brown because covered with thick layer of dust.

Fenrir handed Mu a small piece of cloth to wipe the book, "Here… I never saw that book before."

That lifted up some hope in them, Mu carefully opened the book in dear it would crumble he didn't. "Hm… " He sighed wearily, "This book definitely precious for our people, it's the first book of technique to create cloth and fix it… our very first book of forging." Said he as closed the book, his eyes caught a slip of paper peeked out from the book. "Eh… what is this."

"What an old parchment…" Fenrir commented as eyeing Mu unfolded the parchment.

Mu's eyes widened at the sight of illustration and blueprint of cloth that resemble of winged steed, Pegasus. "This is… Pegasus cloth…"

Fenrir raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it a bronze cloth? I thought no blueprint of cloth left since Mu continent sunk."

The blacksmith nodded, "Yes, but… that's not the case if…" He said as eyeing the symbol on the left upper corned of the parchment, "This must be the number… cloth number 88, so Pegasus cloth is the last cloth that created right after Mu continent sunk…" Mu concluded, sweat trickled down his temple. "And according to this…" Said Mu as he eyed the illustration of meteor, "All cloth of Athena used stardust that harvested from the same meteor, and when our motherland sunk it also gone so… this cloth is the only one that born from different meteor."

The former Aquarius saint was a scholar but he never learned smithing of Lemurian more than its history, "That's surprising and all… but is that…"

"Yes… but it said the meteor used for this cloth is so small, only enough for one cloth…" He shook his head, "But still… why only this one?" Mu asked to no one as he handed it to the older Lemurian.

"Hm…" Fenrir traced the blurry writing, "Indeed the birth of this cloth is fascinating however…" He trailed off as he put the parchment carefully on his desk. "Not relevant with what we are looking for, I guess… not even us keep the knowledge of old age… not even Lemurian…"

Mu sighed wearily, "Indeed… I guess we can stop searching for now Master Fenrir, thank you for your assistance…"

"You are welcome Mu…" The old Lemurian said. "I guess you have stayed longer than planned, you should go home soon."

He nodded sheepishly, "Yes, but without Ishai I can't…" He froze when sound of chiming bell filled the air, "Ah… that's my cue… " Then he eyed the parchment of Pegasus cloth's bluprint, "Uhm… can I have this?"

Fenrir nodded, "It's yours, there is no point for it to collect dust here. Our people here hates weapon and cloth." The old Lemurian said with a thin smile on his lips, "See you in the near future Mu…"

Mu nodded, "Yes… Master Fenrir, see you…" He paused, "Thank you for everything…" And with that the Aries saint disappeared from the room, leaving the former Aquarius saint alone in the room.

Fenrir narrowed his eyes as he observed the surrounding of the room then walked to the armchair near his desk, he sat down gracefully, his forearm crossed on the desk. He closed his grey eyes briefly, establishing a cosmos link to cold cosmos that far away from Ark of Etansel.

_/Master?/ _

The former Aquarius saint smiled at the voice he had not heard for a long time, _/Camus… I have to say I am intrigued by what you said from last time…/ _

He could almost hear Camus scoffing mentally, _/Did I sound delusional for you, Master Fenrir?/ _

_/No… in fact, it's inspirational…/ _At silence he got Fenrir chuckled softly, _/I am not being sarcastic Camus… and since I can't hold this link for long, let's get to the point shall we?/ _

_/Hm…/ _

_/He is angry…/ _Fenrir said tonelessly.

_/Off course he is…/_ Camus agreed, _/In fact… Mu have all reason to hate us now, but he will not act rashly… I hope?/ _

Fenrir shook his head, _/No… he will not, Mu is a true saint after all, Camus…/ _

The former Aquarius saint could almost hear his disciple sighed in relief,_ /Is that so? Hm…/ _

/Camus…/

**Sanctuary, Temple of Leo **

Despite of unfinished conflict with unknown sorceress, gold saints were more concerned about their other enemy that plagued their life ever since they took mantle as gold saints.

Paperwork…

Armed with quill, stamp and earplug Tenma and Shaka were busy finishing their work, ignoring pre- 1000 days war between Aiolia and DeathMask. The Cancer saint to get in a fight with other Gold saints was not rare occurrence, he even bicker with his best friend Aphrodite. But today he was arguing with Aiolia not because Aiolia refused to agree DeathMask cutting fund for pawn's food, or the Cancer saint insulting Aiolos or Shura in front of Aiolia. It was began from Aiolia suddenly announced that DeathMask was assigned a disciple, and Aiolia didn't bother to say it on his face but sent a formal letter to his temple that just one stairs from Leo. It was almost a miracle Galan managed to survive after he sent the letter.

"NO WAY!" The Cancer saint objected for the umpteenth time.

"It's not a request DeathMask!" Aiolia roared back.

That ticked him off even further, "So you order _me_ to teach this brat?"

"I didn't!" Aiolia scowled angrily, "Did you read that boy's profile? There is a reason why Dante asked for better instructor for this boy!"

"And you think I am up for that job?" The Italian saint asked incredulously, "You must be kidding!"

Aiolia had an urge to pull his hair out, "Do you think I am happy to condemn someone with you? I am as unhappy as you are with this arrangement!"

"You think I will be a bad and horrible master?" DeathMask had forgotten he agreed about that before and took Aiolia's statement as an insult, "Tenma come out fine with my teaching!" He huffed.

Aiolia rolled his eyes, "It's Tenma… " As if that explained everything.

Tenma unplugged his ears, raising an eyebrow at them. "Please don't involve me in your bickering…" He asked then looked down at a paper that fell near his desk, he hopped down then picked up the paper. "Hm… so this is the lucky boy who will be your disciple Masky?"

"No! He will not!" DeathMask objected.

"Yes, but he must be the most unfortunate trainee of the year." Aiolia said as glaring at the Cancer saint.

Tenma rolled his eyes then turned his attention to the profile, it was a Japanese boy with dark blue eyes. His hair was dark blue almost black and somehow he looked familiar. The Pegasus saint blinked in confusion then squinted his eyes at the photo, then his eyes trailed down to the name of the boy. **"EH?"**

Aiolia and DeathMask jumped three feet in the air when Tenma's shocked yell rang in the air and Shaka winced, that was so loud even earplug didn't help much. "Tenma!" Shaka warned. "Why you yelled like that?"

His lips quivered in disbelief as he read the name out loud, "**Amamiya** Mei?"

"Huh?" Aiolia blinked.

DeathMask raised an eyebrow, "That sounds Japanese…"

The Leo saint glared at him, "You didn't read his profile?"

"I only read letter that declared he is placed under my guidance! I never agree with that so why should I read his profile?" The Cancer saint asked incredulously.

"Amamiya?" Shaka repeated, "Isn't that Shun's surname?"

Tenma nodded, "But Shun only have one older brother!" He said in confused tone then turned to Aiolia, "Can I borrow Amamiya brother's profile, Aio?"

The Leo saint nodded then went to fetch a thick file then handed it to Tenma, "Here… this one is his…" He said as flipped the file to Ikki's page. "Amamiya Ikki."

"Nine years old… August 15, Leo…" Tenma mumbled, deep in thought as he read Ikki's profile, which next to his was Shun's. "Seven years old… September 9, Virgo…" Then he turned his attention back to Mei's profile, "Ten years old, July 12, Cancer…" His eyes widened then turned to Aiolia, "Do you remember four boys Milo said are ten years old? The oldest one among Kido's sons?"

Aiolia raised an eyebrow, "Uhm… give it back to me for a moment…" Then he flipped the page-by-page, "I have read this many times… though I don't remember all of it… ah… I found those four boys."

Tenma eyed the file on Aiolia's hand, "Aiolia… read the birth date."

"Hm… November 4, September 10, August 30 and… Amamiya Mei, July 12 so…" He blinked, "Hey… this boy…"

Shaka nodded, "The oldest of 100 sons of Kido… his firstborn."

Aiolia groaned, "Oh man… this is not a good news, isn't it?"

"Why?" Shaka asked, "What upset you so? It's not like the boy will surely succeed to compete with other trainee for cloth."

The Leo saint sighed wearily, "Shaka… this boy has no rival for his future cloth."

"Huh? But as far I remember only 5 of them is placed under apprenticeship." The Virgo saint pointed out, "And Mei is placed in the same program just recently…"

He nodded, "Shaka… this boy is taken out of group program for two reasons." He held out his middle and forefinger. "One, he is so talented to the point Dante… who just started teaching have no confidence that he is able to handle this boy. Second… Coma Berenices cloth laid her claim on this boy!" He yelled the last part.

Shaka almost jumped in shock, "What?"

"Berenices cloth?" Cancer DeathMask repeated with incredulous tone, "Isn't that the weird cloth that laying around in Sicily training ground, collecting dust because no one is compatible with it?"

"…DeathMask…" Aiolia groaned, "How the hell you can only tell that much about it when it's kept in _your_ training ground?"

"Why should I care?" He asked back.

"Because that cloth is one of four fabled cloths which kind is unknown!" Aiolia said impatiently, "No one had been able to wear it since holy war with Ares and his berserker!"

Shaka scoffed at that, "Which mean it's really out of Dante's league to teach this boy, the technique of Berenice saint undoubtedly unknown too…"

"So…?" DeathMask droned.

Tenma stared at DeathMask in disbelief, "Masky… you know according to tradition gold saint only can teach trainee that born under the same zodiac, and since silver saints is out of question you are the only hope Mei have left…"

"And the fact this boy is Kido's firstborn… he is legally Kido's heir too…" Aiolia pointed out loftily, "What is the chance of this boy aware who his father is?"

"Big enough…" Shaka said with weary tone, "Also… if this boy is really the older brother of Amamiya Ikki and Amamiya Shun, my guess is… this boy was taken away before Ikki and Shun even old enough to remember him."

Tenma scoffed, "Just compare his photo with Shun's… when Ikki looks nothing like Shun, Mei definitely looks like Shun's brother. Not really that obvious like they are twin but he looks like Shun with Ikki's coloring." He said as he took out three photos and put it on Shaka's desk so they could compare the brothers.

DeathMask groaned, "Oh shit, what a messed up family... what else Dante said about this brat?"

Aiolia sighed, "Ah yeah… Dante also included that in his report, it seems the boy attended a prestigious school in Japan before Kido shipped him to Sicily."

"… So this boy is smart?" DeathMask asked.

"He is already in junior high school, skipped few grades…" Aiolia added.

"Damn… I hate smart rich boy…" DeathMask grumbled with a scowl.

Aiolia perked up at that, "Did you just imply you will teach this boy?"

"Will you give me a way out of this?" He asked back in which all occupants on the room answered NO, "We are on the verge of war and even I have to admit this boy have good potential to be a trump card in the future." He groaned, "At least if he is smart I don't have to waste too much time with him."

"Wow…" Aiolia was awed, "Glad to hear that, so… congratulation DeathMask."

Tenma nodded in agreement, "Yep!"

"Never thought I will see this day… " Shaka chuckled softly.

The Cancer saint snorted, "Doesn't mean I will trust this brat… remember he is the firstborn, the heir of one of the biggest business empire in the world… who knows if six years later Mei will run back to his daddy?" He sneered.

"Ah…" Everyone sweat-dropped at that.

"Beside… I doubt Amamiya Mei will trust me, he _is _a cancer!" DeathMask was a firm believer that Cancer always had difficult time to trust someone thus it was better to trust on yourself and no one else; even his master was the same.

_'You see… Angelo, I love my brother and you… I will even put my life in line for both of you but… don't even dream of me believe in anyone including you and my brother!' _DeathMask had learned that from his master, you may have friends but don't trust them! That worked very well with Aphrodite, don't drink or eat anything he offered or you will ended up like dunderhead Milo and Aiolia did when they drink that laughing rose tea.

Tenma scratched the back of his head, "Seriously Masky… you even haven't see this boy in person!"

"So what?" Somehow whenever Tenma talked to him there was a small part of him that being traitorous to his master's teaching, and he even couldn't hate the brat for it!

Tenma smiled at him then turned his eyes to Shaka, "Well then… shall I play another harmless and friendly Japanese boy again?"

"Very well…"

DeathMask could guess what Tenma meant, he was still not happy though the last time Tenma pulled that one to ask information from Japanese trainees in convention. "Argh… whatever, just don't tell me this Amamiya Mei could be trusted later! I don't want to hear that!"

"Yeah yeah…" Tenma rolled his eyes.

* * *

**Ark of Etansel **

Mu blinked when he found an unfamiliar ceiling and unknown bed he laid on, and also he was well aware that the blanket smelt of herb when he was sure he never put anything on his. He opened his eyes then sat up slowly, he felt like he had an hangover. He experienced hangover once last year after a horrible nightmare that reminded him of all bad memories, his master's death, a fight with Shaka and his isolated life. One moment of stupidity he regretted, thinking he could try to drunk himself to forget the bad memories. He never touched alcoholic drinks since then so why he felt like he had an hangover?

"Ah you are awake…" A familiar voice was heard from his right.

Mu blinked again at the sight of his older friend, and his father that looked exactly like older version of Ishai with wrinkled face. "Ishai, uncle Yesaya? Where am I? What happened to me? Why am I here?" He asked at once which earned him an annoyed look from the older Lemurians, and he shrunk in embarrassment.

Ishai scoffed, "You are in my house… our guest room, you passed out on the road and brought here because you are my responsibility as long as your stay in Ark of Etansel." He listed on nonchalantly.

The Aries saint was confused, he remembered going out of the public library but after that… "How come I passed out last night?" He asked again.

"You are exhausted…" Ishai droned, "You spent hours with old man Fenrir so no wonder you brain is working a bit too hard." He said as he tapped his temple.

"Ah… maybe…" Mu snapped up when he reminded of something and started to tap his hands against his body. "Eh…"

When Mu was busy rummaging his pocket Yesaya narrowed his eyes at Mu, the Aries saint was oblivious of sad eyes of the older Lemurian that as if pleading for forgiveness. "What are you looking for?"

"A small rolled parchment! I got it from Master Fenrir! Oh… where did I put it?" He wondered out loud with desperate voice.

Yesaya looked reluctant before he rummaged his pocket then handed a parchment to Mu, "You are looking for this?" He asked.

Mu blinked at the parchment before he unrolled it, "Ah yes! This is the blueprint… eh?" Mu squinted his eyes.

The older Lemurian grew worried and nervous, "Is… something wrong?" He asked tentatively.

Mu shook his head, "Ah… no, I just think it looks a little different from last night but… must be just me." It as if there was something missing from the blueprint but he couldn't recall what.

Yesaya nodded, deep down he was relieved Mu didn't notice a thing. "Well then… if you are alright now, Ishai will guide you back to the entrance of Etansel."

Mu beamed at that, he wanted to go home so badly for some reason. It must be because he felt sweaty and need a bath for sure. "Yes, please! Thank you Ishai!"

* * *

**Andromeda Island **

The island rarely had visitors because of the hellish environment, but lately they had many visitors from Tenma, Aphrodite, Orphee, Senel and now Noesis and his disciple Retsu. Daidalos was happy they had another visitors because their island had became quiet after Tenma left yesterday, the boy really made their island livelier than usual. Too bad Noesis only visited for informing him of a mission to China, in which they will leave shortly leaving his disciples on their own.

Daidalos smiled at the timid boy, Noesis' disciple who recently granted Lynx cloth. His disciples would be as old as Retsu by the time they entered sainthood, the Lynx saint looked shy and if he was not a saint Retsu might hide behind his master. His disciples definitely not impressed at how Retsu looked nervous under their gaze, but then again Tenma left a very strong impression of how a young saint suppose to be.

The Cepheus saint was chatting with Noesis about their mission when they left their disciple conversing on their own. Retsu greeted them shyly after Daidalos' disciples introduced themselves, "Hello… I am Lynx Retsu from Milos Island training ground, Triangle Noesis' first disciple… "

Spica raised an eyebrow at Retsu, "You aren't as tough looking as Tenma…" Granted Tenma didn't look tough either at first but this boy kept looking weirdly at them and fidgeting.

Retsu was startled, "You can't compare me with him! He is a gold saint candidate when I am just a bronze saint." He reminded them.

Spica and Leda blinked, "Oh yeah… I forget he is indeed a gold candidate." Tenma's easygoing nature made him very approachable and so unlike their superior. On their mind they pictured Tenma with a goofy grin then he pouted as reminding them _'I am your superior you know!'_ Very easy to forget he is already a saint and a gold candidate to boot.

Shun looked at them in disbelief, "Hey… don't say that!"

June nodded in agreement, "That's rude!"

When June started rebuking Leda and Spica, Retsu stared at Shun. "Uhm… you are a boy right?"

Shun blushed deep red, "Yes! Please don't ask that again…"

Retsu stammered an apology before asked, "Uhm… you are candidate for Andromeda cloth?"

The Japanese boy blinked, "Yes, I am…"

Shun was caught off guard when Retsu suddenly grabbed his shoulder, eyes locked to his. "Stay strong!" He encouraged the younger boy who blinked in confusion; oblivious that Retsu was talking about his pink cloth that had breastplate or Retsu's sympathy for him wearing the said cloth in the future. "You can do it!"

The future Andromeda saint nodded, "Er… thank you?" He thanked the older boy unsurely.

* * *

**Ark of Etansel, Sacred tower **

"Hm…" A silhouette of a man was sitting on the window frame, humming a mystic tune.

"I am so sorry for what happened last night…" Said an old Lemurian who dressed in traditional cloth of their race which consist of long robe and outer clothing that resemble of a coat, the outfit was made of white silk and their scarf golden color. "My lord…" There were three of them, all dressed in similar outfit. Their hair were white because of age but they looked younger than their real age as Lemurian aged slower than other race.

A parchment rolled and unrolled as if dancing on the tips of his finger, the crimson haired man smiled at them as his blue eyes shone with mirth. "It's okay…" He said as looked at the view of a lilac haired Lemurian who walked to the gate of Etansel with Ishai as chatting merrily, "That child just happened to wander around by mistake…"

"But… for you to be so lenient toward that boy…" The elder muttered, "Thank you, for forgiving his insolence…"

He shook his head, "There is nothing to be pardoned… child, and as for this…" The man said as the parchment rolled up then landed on his grasp, "It just accidentally fell on his hand." He assured them with a smile, "I take it just to be safe… nothing important, please… that child is really innocent. You don't have to worry…"

"Thank you milord…" They muttered in chorus then fell on their knees.

"Well then… I will take my leave." And with that his form faded to nothing, and no trace left.

* * *

**Jamir, market place **

"EH? He is not here anymore?" Mu almost yelled at the vendor.

The vendor was a Tibetan who happened to be near when Mu was looking for Soma whose shop had been empty and no clue where the Indian man had gone to. "Yes Sir… that man, shortly after you left this shop… a beautiful Indian girl came then yelling in Hindi at the man you are looking for."

"What did she say?" Mu asked eagerly.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "My Hindi is not too good Sir, but I am sure she was talking about that man suddenly left their home empty with a message he was here. She seems not happy that man left just like that…"

Mu's hope lifted up at that, "So, they went home? Back to India?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"They are one heck of wife and husband… I have to say… out of nowhere they decided to be traveling vendors, selling curry rice and spice as traveling in various country all over the world!" The Tibetan saint said, Mu gaped at him as he tried to make the story make sense to no avail. "Sounds like a honeymoon to me."

Mu had an urge to slap his forehead, he wanted to ask Soma about that Sagittarius saint candidate and also situation in Sanctuary. He couldn't ask anyone from their rank who wasn't close with him because he would be in big trouble if reported trying to fish out information. "Did they say where they were heading to?"

"Ah… that's it Sir, after that they spent two hours debating where to go… the husband wanted to go to England when the wife wanted to go to Singapore…" He informed Mu who felt his headache was growing, "And in the end they decided to pick random place from world map, so I have no idea where Sir since they packed their spices right away after that and left before sunrise today."

"…" There goes his only hope to fish out some information, "Thank you… please tell that India man that I am looking for him if you see him again."

"Off course Sir!" He grinned, "And thank you for buying my Chicken-pao!"

Mu smiled sheepishly then took a bite of steaming food on his hand, "Ah… it's okay, and I need breakfast anyway." Then he paused, "Uhm… give me three more, the big one with boiled egg! For take out!"

"Yes sir!" The vendor said as he wrapped three steaming chicken pao. The Aries saint was sure Roushi would love it; beside he had to report his finding to Roushi. The old Libra saint must be dying for new information.

* * *

**Italy, Sicily training ground **

"Cancer DeathMask?" A dark blue haired boy repeated the name awkwardly, "How a _saint_ could have that name?" He asked in confusion.

Cerberus Dante was not in good mood, he had just reprimanded in his last mission. The only good thing come from it was he could submit letter to request a new master for the Japanese boy in front of him. The boy was smart, a bit arrogant but then again with brain like that it was no wonder. "Mei… promise me you will not say anything stupid to Lord DeathMask." He warned the boy sternly, "Lord DeathMask gained that name for his penchant of collecting his victim's head and hang their faces on his temple's wall." He explained in which Mei blanched in response.

He gulped, "Lord DeathMask really a dangerous man, isn't he?"

Dante sighed in relief, the boy might survive longer if he could keep that in mind. "He is the most vicious and cruelest gold saint, as strong as hell and could send your soul to underworld with a flick of his finger…" He continued eerily.

Mei looked deep in thought at the story of his new mentor, "Hm…" His eyes narrowed, _'this gold saint might worth my time after all, and by the time is right… I can throw that man away from my life!'_ He vowed silently on his mind.

_Review Please!  
_

* * *

**ps: I would like to update often, I really want to... this story is one that I put more effort more than my other story... I keep updating this not because of review but because I love writing this. If I update just for reviews I have three stories with more reviews than this one, I don't want to hold my story hostage just for review, that's not right! But please... this story viewed and faved hundreds of time and I even can't get at least 5 reviews? I also notice lots of story in this fandom also down... readers! Please support us more! **

**BTW I will rewrite Gold Gaiden, I wonder what was I thinking to write that? Hic!  
**

**PLEASE READ! IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE**

**I know in side-story I imply Aiolia already did the three miles Island mission like in episode G, but hey! I would like to have Tenma-version of that mission. But don't misunderstand that I make Aiolia look bad because John Black died in original story, Aiolia in beginning of episode G is a depressed youth who don't care about the world after his brother's death. Beside Milo is there too, and he is helping to keep John Black out of the way. **

**History of Lost continent Mu is really fairytale like or so I think :p I have read hypermyth in Mu's corner, man… I think I am going to pass out to fit my history with it. For you who don't know, Hypermyth is original myth for SS universe that published in cosmos special. And… from what I see in English fics, either most of us decide to ignore this Hypermyth or never read it :p and I myself admit I give up on Hypermyth, it's a big messed up history… in my opinion. And please note, it's published around Poseidon arc.  
**

**Ark of Etansel off course is named after Noah's ark, because in this story's universe Mu continent was sunk by Poseidon, which is why the city is named ark as in land that will never sink :) Etansel is the name of City from Legend of Mana game, the city is famed for its beauty. This city is hidden and couldn't be found without special method just like Lemurian city :)  
**

** Anyway… the name of Lemurian OC is altered Hebrew/Jews name. WHY? Simply because Shion _maybe_ derived from Zion and Mu is continent name… I need ancient name of places or something from bible~ Other land name I know is Lowrensia which also ancient continent but I will save it for later. They are not that important so don't bother remembering them, I will reintroduce them again _if _they appeared again later.  
**

**Ishai is actually from Isaac, believe it or not there are version of his name become Ishak. Well… Indonesian version of the name ;p **

**Yesaya actually well… Isaiah~**

**Fenrir named after son of Loki from Norse myth, and why he is still alive because… I don't want to make up 101 excuse of why all gold saints before current one died! Seriously! Beside… I think if Camus' master is still alive would be amusing, because Hyoga and Isac still have their master's master's master XDDD Yeah, he is alive for my amusement sake ;p And yeah, he is actually modeled after Byakuya from bleach XD **

**About DeathMask's new disciple, Amamiya Mei… I also wonder what possessed me to jump to this plot? I decide it when I wrote this chapter half-way, so it's not planned at all~ **

**Mei is character from Gigantomachia novel created by Tatsuya Hamazaki and Masami Kurumada. He is introduced as Mei Kido as he is the firstborn. Like what I wrote, Mei is DeathMask's disciple and he was trained in Sicily. **

**Note: Mei's original hair is BLACK, the same color as Ikki in manga but he dyed it white/gray... in case you wondering why when you google him all fanart of his has white or gray. DeathMask's original hair color in manga is gray, Mei respect DM a lot in gigantomachia ^^ so sweet ne?  
**

**He is also Kido's firstborn and heir. Yes, he is half-brother of Shun and Ikki like Seiya and co in the novel. Why I made him their brother? Simple… more twist and because it fits. Some illustration I found make him looks like Shun (I know… it's not official art and Kurumada's art style has limited face) and another reason is very silly… **

**Shun: twinkle, Ikki: gleam, Mei: bright/light, so… did you see a pattern?**

**Mei is firstborn so I think it's possible Kido treat him in special way thus took him away to be raised with special education, but just like other sons of his... Mei used his mother's surname. And... did Ikki know him? Take a guess! (I actually haven't think it that far~)  
Hope you like this chapter and I notice this fandom is REALLY lonely and empty recently? Where are you people? I only have sixty people reading my newest SS story a day! Make this place livelier! XDDDD By the way please visit my DA page, I have pic of my newest story "Gold saint gaiden" featuring Albafica, lugonis, Aphrodite and Endrance. **

**Ja-ne ~  
**


	10. Sacrilege

**BTW I just read gigantomachia, a very nice novel in which at least Athena is not in need to be saved but I sorely dissapointed Mei is not really like I thought! He is a very kind boy~ so unselfish and bla bla bla which is why he is willing to go with other half-brothers of his to saint training~**

**Anyway this is my story and universe so I will not follow gigantomachia! No way! DeathMask have a boy he has to corrupt! XDDD seeing how much Mei respected DM it's a wonder how he turned out like how he is in gigantomachia! Maybe DM in original series has redeeming quality in him actually!**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Sacrilege **

Crying children in orphanage was daily occurrence that would be taken care of in a blink of the eye by their caretaker. However Sister Alicia found what happened before her very eyes today was not one of those daily occurrence. Their little angels were not hungry; it was just 1PM after all. Diapers? No… definitely not the case for children who had long passed their toddler age. It was not a fight either, no screaming and punching for today.

And the reason for their angels to cry their eyes out?

"I am really… really sorry Sister Alicia…" Seika looked down, red from embarrassment.

Alicia smiled to comfort the young girl, "It's not your fault Seika-chan." It was not on purpose in Seika's part but Alicia had to wonder why Seika of all things…

It began with Seika's annual visit on the weekend, and it was also a tradition for Seika to be storyteller of the day. She was children's favorite storyteller, because other caretaker usually read them story from books or bible that according to their charge was boring. Seika in the other hand was a talented storyteller with imagination to back it up, sometimes they joked if Seika was Hans Christian Andersen in her previous life.

Her stories were original and no 'Once upon a time' and sheer excitement the story brought could nail even their most active child on the spot. Alicia loved Seika's story, but today she couldn't help but wonder why Seika didn't end it with happy ending so they didn't have to deal with this mess.

"Hwaaa! So cruel!" Cried a five-year-old girl in ponytail.

"Poor her…" Sobbed a younger boy.

Seika winced, "It's a bit too late for me to change the ending…" She guessed, since there was no way her brother and sisters would pay attention anymore.

"It's a great story…" Alicia assured the curly haired girl, "Though…" She smiled sadly, "It's really a heart wrenching story, even for an adult like me…"

_In a dried land, namely, at the ends of a red scorching hell  
There was a mansion made from ice.  
That mansion was cursed because of the ice.  
Inside the mansion, a girl of ice was locked in one of its room. _

_Her eyes shone like an aquamarine, her slender body sculpted without scar from ice and her hair was made of icicles. In that cold and isolated room…  
She was… completely alone._

_One day, by pure chance a boy was traveling. Enchanted by curiosity when his eyes laid its sight on the cursed mansion.  
He opened the door to her room. And he met her…  
the girl of ice whose face froze with sadness.  
As his eyes locked to hers, it reflected the sad expression of hers. _

_He wanted to help her, to make her happy.  
Unknown to him, the girl was overjoyed just by his mere presence by her side. _

_"I am glad you that you have talked to me." But her frozen lips couldn't utter a word. _

_She rejoiced even though her icy face couldn't smile, "I am so happy you are here for me…" _

_The boy couldn't bear to see her pained face, thus he embraced her with warmth without care of coldness that touched his skin. But since her body was made of ice, his warmth melted her body to water._

_ Then, the water soared as if it had wings, and returned to the heavens, became rain then returned to the land._

_In a dried land, namely, at the ends of a red scorching hell.  
The voices of joy resounded, as rain poured over mother earth quenching her thirst.  
It was a great… blessing._

_The boy realized she had become the rain and departed the joyful village, in search of his girl's heart… completely alone. _

_Unknown to him, she was overjoyed to be the rain, to be a blessing for him.  
The girl thought, "I am very glad that you have talked to me..."  
Though her watery lips couldn't speak.  
For the sake of her boy, the girl was glad to become the rain, and downpour over the land._ _  
"Thank you for loving me so much." And she smiled for the first time.  
_  
_The frozen heart of the girl did turned into water when she felt warmth. Because the tears the boy shed for her were very warm._

_Since then, whenever she rain over the land the boy let his body soaked by the rain. So she could feel his warmth she loved._

* * *

"Seika-neesan…" Saori called her sister who still had that guilty look on the way home. "Are you… okay?"

Seika smiled sheepishly, "I am… I have just messed up big time today, ha ha ha…"

Saori scoffed, "Nee-san, it's' not your fault if they have not developed enough aesthetic sense to appreciate such a beautiful story." The reincarnated Goddess stated haughtily, "Children with simple mind only can be amused with happily ever after fairytales."

The older girl couldn't resist to point out, "Saori… you are seven."

"So?"

"And I am nine years old." She added, " We _are_ children." She pointed out the obvious.

"But not with mind of one." Saori argued.

Seika sighed, her sister had come a long way from a spoiled ojou-sama but she was still ojou-sama after all. Sure they were unlike most children; circumstances forced them to mature beyond their years so Saori's argument was not really wrong. "Saori-chan… you also cried like everyone else." Albeit not outright bawling, it was a choked sob accompanied with praise for such an original story with trembling voice.

She blushed deep red, "The story is really touching! I can't help myself but cried as appreciation!"

Seika sighed at Saori's defense her sister was really stubborn. "Saori… I am sure you would prefer it to have good ending, such as the girl become normal girl then marry the boy." A twitch on Saori's eyes clearly said she didn't like to be grouped with other children.

"Onee-san too! You will prefer a happy ending too!" Saori blushed deep red, glaring at Seika who smiled sheepishly.

"I do… I am a little girl after all, and proud of it unlike a certain ojou-sama… I love being young. Thank you very much…" She joked which turned Saori's ears pink, "But if you ask why this story ended sad… it's just I can't get the moral of this story across then…"

Saori turned a curious green eyes to her, "I doubt anyone get it with that bawling and crying…"

Seika sweat-dropped at that, "Ah… so true."

Her cheeks turned redder as mumbled, "And neither I do."

"I will tell you when you are older." Seika quipped.

"Nee-san!" Never tell Saori that phrase because she was sick of it, there are many questions she asked answered that way and being a curious girl, Saori was not happy about it. "Tell me!"

"Nope…"

"Please… pretty please,"

That puppy look would never work on Seika since it was pulled against her for many times to the point she was immune. "Hm… figure it out yourself, Saori-chan…"

"Meanie!" Saori whined.

"Seika…"

The said girl looked up to Mitsumas Kido, "Jii-san, what is it?"

"This old man is curious…"

Seika sighed, go figures Saori would hole up in library to find what moral the story hold and their ojii-san will be worried about her then confront Seika to do something about it. "About story I told her this afternoon in orphanage?"

He nodded, "Yes… I do have vague guess what you want to say through this story."

The young lady narrowed his eyes, sadness painted her face grimly. "Many times… people says I want my beloved to be happy, but in the end… do we know what will make them happy?" Seika asked to no one, "The girl of ice who melted and become the rain, she was happy but the boy is not… in the end both of them were so selfish… "

"Seika…" He wondered if she knew his secret, about Athena and sons he sacrificed for the world. But somehow he felt the one Seika wanted to hear this story the most was him. This story was telling him that he had no right to think what he had done was for the best, that he was still human who prone to make mistakes.

"I leave out the last part though… where the girl was happy because she thought she became blessing for many people including her boy. That she made him happy…" She looked down with a sad smile, "And in the end the boy was also happy for her because… if became the rain means her freedom..." She closed her eyes, "Can you say they are really happy?"

* * *

**Goroho**

Two hundred and thirty seven years, a very long time that if he looked back passed in a blink of an eye compared to few years of holy war he had been through. Libra Dohko had been granted gold saint status when he was fifteen years old, he remembered the old man of Jamir brought him to sanctuary together with Aries candidate. That was the second time he met Shion, when their first meeting was when they were ten and still a green trainee. At first Dohko was not really in the same mood as Shion when he was granted the gold cloth, he was proud of himself but not satisfied. He envied Shion whose master was there to congratulate him though Hakurei still called Shion as ungrateful brat all the time, and deep down only wanted to annoy Shion. Dohko in the other hand had just lost his master.

Shion had been there to comfort him, though that eased him a little the wound never healed fully because the loss was so great. He and Shion was close because they were the youngest gold saint by that time, and they came from Asia so it was not easy to adapt with other gold saint whose origin was Europe right away. Virgo Asmita who came from India was not very sociable person and very unnerving, he was polite but kept everyone in arm length, not a type a newbie like them would choose to start befriend with.

Libra Dohko in the end of his first year as gold saint found someone that until today was person he treasured the most just like Shion for him. When he thought of it again Dohko knew he was used by fate to bring the boy back to his goddess. That founding the boy trying to break mountain of stones in that rainy day was never a coincidence.

Pegasus Tenma…

The Libra saint wondered if the Pegasus saint had reincarnated again somewhere, but wherever he was the Pegasus saint would be always by her side. The thought they had no idea where Athena was after that night of tragedy was unsettling, the thought of Tenma might be somewhere near and protecting her was the only thing that eased his worries. Or maybe the boy was already in training to be a saint, Dohko was not worried about that though as Tenma had managed to finish his training in two years when he started it when he was thirteen. Something prodigious that when he thought of it now might be something to do with how Pegasus saint's soul felt the urgency of coming holy war. No matter, Tenma would be there when Athena needed him. It was more assuring for Dohko rather than twelve gold saints by her side.

This musing had been plagued his mind since seven years ago, it might be because he knew Tenma and Athena were born in that year. His musing was interrupted when he felt three cosmos signature appeared suddenly near the forest. He could tell two of it belongs to silver saints and one was bronze saint. He opened his eyes then looked at his disciple and adopter daughter who sat near the edge of river, Shiryu was still busy glaring at the water surface that only whirled weakly around his hand, frustrated at the slow progress when Shunrei was making a flower ring.

He laughed as he called Shiryu, "Dear me… don't be frustrated Shiryu, and it's not helping you."

Shiryu blushed deep red as he pulled his hands from the river, "But Roushi… how can I be stronger at this rate! I want to be strong!"

The old Libra saint sighed, Shiryu was nothing like Tenma. It would be very unfair to expect Shiryu to be like Tenma who completed his training in two years with breeze. But the old Libra couldn't help but noted when Tenma was hot-headed, cheerful and sociable, his current pupil Shiryu was very calm, not too sociable, and most of the time trying his hardest to appear mature. Dohko thought Shiryu was so alike with Shion when he was young, at least on the inside.

"Shiryu… I have guests today, so how if you bring Shunrei with you and continue training somewhere else?" He suggested kindly, "I heard from Shunrei you found a beautiful riverside few days ago?"

Shiryu nodded, "Yes Roushi… " Then turned to the Chinese girl who had the flower ring on her hair, smiling shyly at Shiryu. "Come Shunrei… "Then turned back to his master, "We will be there if you need us, Roushi."

"Yes… have fun you two…" And when the two children had disappeared to the depth of forest the old Libra saint stood up and turned back to greet his fellow saints. "Hello… it such a beautiful day, isn't it?"

The bronze saint, Dohko could tell was a fresh saint, looked very nervous and seemed having a hard time to not hiding behind his master. The silver saints were blond and Dohko had met both of them couple of times, Daidalos and Noesis were popular among saint rank for their intelligence and power. Noesis might be average in term of strength but his technique was essential in team, Dohko had heard the silver saint adopted a Chinese orphan boy to be his disciple so it must be the new bronze saint.

Daidalos in the other hand was formidable silver saint whose power considered in the same level as gold saints, but he was polite and friendly. Dohko had heard in the past Daidalos was a little brash and prone to get pulled in trouble by his best friend Cassiopeia Senel, in which one of the troubles landed him in charge of Andromeda Island for teaching duty. But it seemed years teaching had matured Daidalos and now he was one of few saints who in charge of talented trainees not for one but four cloths at once.

"Good day… Roushi, I am Cepheus Daidalos… Triangle Noesis…" He said as turned to the shorthaired silver saint by his side, "And Lynx Retsu." The bronze saint bowed hastily with his hands clasped, which soon the bronze saint realized was not a way to greet a fellow saint.

Noesis chuckled softly when Retsu stammering an apology to the old Libra, "Forgive my disciple… he is the new saint of Lynx, Retsu… "

Dohko laughed good-naturedly, "It's fine… he is a Chinese and so am I, it's so polite of such a young boy. And… he still remember his homeland tradition after years in Greece." After the boy stammered a polite thanks Dohko turned to Daidalos who was the team leader, "Daidalos… I am sure this is not a social visit but rather… one concerning current situation that I heard not really peaceful."

The lower ranked saints kneeled at once, Daidalos closed his eyes briefly as he began his report. "Cepheus Daidalos is here to report, since few days ago our information network has received information of a suspicious phenomena in China or precisely in the depth of forest near Guang Yuan town, Sichuan province…"

The old Libra frowned, "And why sanctuary act now?"

It was Noesis who answered and his voice was grim. "Because… our people who dispatched to the forest to investigate, no one returned to report…"

Daidalos nodded in agreement, "Since no information that returned to sanctuary, Lord Aldebaran decided to arrange saints for other country with similar phenomena to Lord Milo and Lord Aiolia first…" He paused, "Lord Aldebaran didn't wish to send us in blind mission, when his subordinate's whereabouts is unknown."

Noesis continued, "But in the end, in second day people around the forest began to notice the villagers who went to forest didn't return, and by the third day they intend to call law officers to search for the missing peoples…"

Dohko's eyes widened at that, the situation was almost out of control. Aldebaran must have requested the team to Aiolia or Milo with heavy heart to do this mission; holy war was near so sanctuary in the past few years was very careful with their human resource. "What sanctuary has done to control the damage?"

"We managed to secure the forest perimeter, and we have requested the government to send out warning so no citizen allowed to enter the forest before we finished this mission." Daidalos reported with the sternest voice.

The old Libra sighed wearily, it seemed peace never lasted for long. "Very well…"

All eyes widened when they felt someone's cosmos suddenly appeared near them, a sign of someone teleported. Much to the silver saint's surprise it was Aries Mu who appeared from the thin air, dressed in gold cloth though what he brought with him didn't fit with the cloth. It was two round bamboo bun steamers, and it was still steaming. Nevertheless when all eyes landed on Mu and then to the steaming bun basket, it was so awkward. It was if they had caught the gold saint in inappropriate time.

Mu blinked in confusion, he didn't expect Roushi to have guests so early in the morning. "Ah… good morning, is there any urgent news Roushi?" He asked as looked up to the old Libra who stood on the high pier.

Roushi laughed at the awkwardness the lower ranked saints felt at their presence, Mu seemed not concerned how unlike gold saint he appeared. "Good morning Mu, no urgent news for us. But these three just passing by before going to their mission."

The Libra saint caught Mu was looking at the group with some kind of longing; he understood what the Aries saint was thinking. It had been years since Mu went to a mission with his fellow saints, when Mu travels quite often to search for cloth that had been missing he was always alone.

Mu nodded, "I see…"

Retsu was looking at Mu with awe; he had met few gold saints in person because his training ground was the closest with sanctuary. He had met Aldebaran who came checking all training grounds every year and Milo who supposed to be in charge of Milos Island but leaving the duty to Noesis since he had more important duty in sanctuary. Retsu noted that Aries Mu looked so different compared to Aldebaran or Milo, there was certain ancient and mystic air around him. When Retsu felt overwhelming power from both Aldebaran and Milo, Aries Mu's cosmos was very calm, even calmer than his master's.

"Mu…" The old Libra saint called, "Would you like to help them?"

Daidalos and Noesis was shocked at that, "Roushi?"

The Aries saint's eyes widened, "I would like to…" He answered honestly; he had longed to go on mission with his fellow saints. "But is it alright with you?" He asked the silver saints.

The Cepheus saint was startled at how willing the Aries saint to help them, he sounded so sincere about it too. "Of course… it's an honor to work with you milord." He answered without thinking twice and Noesis nodded in agreement, equally flabbergasted at the turn of event.

Mu smiled at them, "Thank you…" Then he walked past them then handed the basket to Roushi, "This steamed bun is delicious, I bought them this morning in Jamir." Said Mu then continued telepathically, _/There is nothing I could find from my people, Master Fenrir only said what Shaka and Camus are up to is ending holy war forever and nothing else… which explain why they are so worked up in increasing power of our army/ _

_/Is that so? Very ambitious of them! I never think of that myself when I was their age. Very well Mu… keep an eye for new information and report back to me after you finished this mission/_ Roushi laughed in grandfatherly way, "Ho ho ho… you remember it's mine and Shunrei's favorite!"

"Yes Roushi…" Mu nodded as bowed gracefully. Then he turned to the rest of saints, "Shall we go now?" He asked as smiled warmly at them, in which they could only nod before bid the old saint farewell then disappeared in a flash of light.

The old Libra in the other hand eyed the steaming steamer then decided to have breakfast with Shunrei and Shiryu in the riverside, yes… it was a good day.

* * *

**Siberia training ground**

Camus to be honest had no idea how to ask Hyoga more about Kido Mitsumasa and his granddaughter they suspected was actually their missing goddess. Hyoga was so emotional the last time they talked about it in Rodorio, but then again could he blame Hyoga? He is an eight years old boy who lost his mother, then his father who was the reason they got into the accident turn a blind eye then shipped him and his ninety nine brothers to saint training.

The thought that kind of man had custody of their goddess was very unsettling, he and Shaka was so concerned in _how_ this man raised young Athena. Goddess or not she was reincarnated as mortal and was a baby; they doubted her godhood matter in this case. She was just as pure and innocent and like other mortal child would grow influenced by how she was raised.

He had to agree with Shaka about questioning their devotion to Athena, he didn't want to forsake his master's teaching but when face by a question would you be loyal to a goddess you only ever heard of blindly? Camus wanted his devotion to be rational, he wanted to follow Athena who just like his master said, righteous goddess who represent the disciplined, strategic side of war.

"Master Camus…" Hyoga looked up from his cup, "Your tea is cold now." He pointed out.

Crystal went shopping to the nearest village for supply with Isaac. Hyoga wanted to go with them but Camus requested the boy to stay so they could talk in private. "Hyoga… may I ask more about Kido?" He asked.

The half-Russian boy tensed a little but relaxed soon enough, "Yes, Master Camus…" He nodded, "Go ahead."

"It's about his granddaughter…" Camus trailed off, wondering if it would be suspicious asking about the girl. "What kind of girl she is?"

Hyoga blinked, he didn't expect Camus would ask about that girl. But he didn't question his master; there must be a reason. "About Saori-_ojousan_? Hm…" Camus noted there was a sarcastic tone when Hyoga spelled the honorific, which Camus recognized in Japanese meant lady. "Two words… which, first forgive for the use of inappropriate language, Master Camus."

The ice saint raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Unfortunately two words could describe her well and I didn't know what else to call her, in two words… she is a **spoiled brat**…" Hyoga huffed with crossed arms.

"…" Camus was at lost of word, and knowing Hyoga the boy was serious and not exaggerating. Their goddess had grown to be a what?!

"Master Camus?" Hyoga looked warily at him.

Camus shook his head, "Hyoga… why you think so?"

The ice saint could see Hyoga almost rolled his eyes at the question then answered in deadpan manner, "That girl when she first saw us… she thought we are some kind of toy her grandfather bought for her from a shop, whenever we are having a break from training it's the same as time to let her _play us _not with which consist of her playing horsy on us, forcing us playing dolls with her, and sometimes…"

Camus gaped a little as Hyoga's list of how Saori treated them like her toy grew longer and longer, the though Athena would play horsy with them and using real horsewhip was one he couldn't comprehend. What kind of education Kido gave to Athena?!

"Hyoga…" The boy was ranting and Camus could understand they boy was piling up his frustration for the girl's treatment at them, and Hyoga had been spilling everything at why Saori was '_Spoiled Brat'_ like a broken dam. "She is really allowed to do all of that to you and your brothers?"

The boy nodded, "Yes… it as if she is a goddess for Kido to the point he let her do everything she wanted."

Hyoga might didn't mean his statement that for Kido, Saori was a goddess. Which for Camus explained a lot of as in why Kido did this. The man thought Saori was Athena, the boys even though his sons were her future saints. That man thought it was fine she treated them as she wished because they were her future saints! What that man was thinking? Saints were not Athena's slaves!

He had a headache, thinking of what their goddess had become in Kido's hand, "Hyoga… is this Saori have no positive side at all? Is this how Kido raised his granddaughter?"

Hyoga raised an eyebrow, "Other than she is smart? I may sounded biased but about her being smart, I heard it from Kido…" Which meant Hyoga knew almost nothing about Athena but for a child like Hyoga to extremely disliking Saori… How his comrades would react at this news? He could imagine Aphrodite laughed his head off; DeathMask would _try _to revoke his sainthood because no way he will serve a brat, and Shura might hang his head. That was absurd thought but…

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

Crystal opened the wooden door with a creaking sound, "Master… I am back, we are having mashed potato today!" He said cheerfully.

Isaac entered the hut, equally cheerful. "They are having sales for potato in the village, it's cheaper than usual!" He licked his lips then turned to Hyoga, "It's your favorite, Hyoga!"

Crystal blinked at the sight of his master, holding his head with weary expression. "Master Camus?"

"I have a headache…" Camus muttered under his breath, and then he stood up abruptly, "Hyoga, thank you… "Then turned to his other disciples. "Crystal… I am going back to sanctuary for a few days. Take care of Hyoga and Isaac."

The silver saint blinked again, "Uhm… sure Master." What happened in 60 minutes he left the hut? He never saw Camus looked like Holy war came earlier than they expected.

* * *

**China, forest near Guang Yuan town **

Forest ofGuang Yuan used to be a beautiful place, friendly nature that fed its habitants and human who lived near. The citizen loved the forest so they never take more than needed, and nature had kindly gave its blessing. But one day the forest turned grim, as many men who went to the forest for food and wooddidn't return. Women wept as their husband and sons didn't come backand their fate were unknown, law officers that stationed in the town didn't go to search their missing family instead forbid them from looking.

Mu, Daidalos, Noesis and Retsu had took one look at the scene of weeping family who wept and begged the police to let them looking, the sight was so sad and that urged them to save the missing peoples faster. On the back of their mind they knew it was undoubtedly there were anyone that could be saved after days in the forest.

Rustling sound of tall grass filled the silence as no one in mood to talk after what they saw in the entrance of the forest. Much to their surprise it was Mu who began a conversation, "So… what information Aldebaran have received?"

Noesis shook his head, "None sir, in this mission we are as blind as a bat."

The Cepheus saint nodded in agreement, "According to Dante and Asterion, it probably a creature from myth… they have encountered harpies in Italy, I myself have seen Cetus attacking my training ground."

Mu's eyes widened, so it's Andromeda Island that got attacked first. "Cetus? Hm… is everything alright in Andromeda Island."

Daidalos smiled at concern the Aries saint shown, "Yes, I have my disciples evacuated first then we fought with Cetus…" He paused, "Ah… another information I heard, it's strongly suspected these creatures actually already dead."

"Huh?" Mu blinked, "Are you saying that… they are living corpse?"

"Yes…" Noesis nodded, "Our enemy most likely a witch who mastered ancient sorcery." He explained loftily, "But the motive for this necromancy is unknown…" He paused, "Sanctuary decided to refer to this unknown culprit as _'The Witch'_ since this is all we know about her identity."

"How fitting…" The lilac haired saint pursed his lips, "Hm… as far as I see, these creatures endangered innocent lives and invoke panic." Mu concluded grimly, "I might sound selfish to say this… but to exhaust our force before holy war is not a good news for us."

Daidalos nodded in agreement, from the corner of his eyes he could see Noesis and Retsu tensed a little at what Mu was implying. The Cepheus saint knew there was always a risk in all mission, and one where they were in the dark like this mission ended up with someone dying or worse… "Yes… but in the same time we couldn't let this slip, we might as well count this as training before holy war…" Then winked to Noesis, "Right? This would be no big… remember, all of us are still young!"

Noesis chuckled at that, "Daidalos… always positive."

Mu also smiled at Daidalos, silently chided himself for unable to keep his comrade's moral high. He knew that out of all gold saints he might be the one with the worse leadership skill. "That's good…" Then he turned to the youngest saint in-group, "Retsu…" He called solemnly.

Retsu almost jumped in fright, then stammered. "Yes? Lord Mu?"

It was weird to be addressed by this boy as Lord when Mu was only one or two years older, but then again he was still Retsu's superior. "This is your first mission, remember… don't panic and stay calm when danger approach."

"Yes milord!"

Noesis curved up a smile before his attention was drawn by a change of air, which noticed by all of them. "It's near…"

The Aries saint closed his eyes, trying to perceive sign of nearest cosmos. There was one that so big, it couldn't be an animal but in the same time it felt vicious, hostile and cruel. "Half a mile to the east…" He muttered and the rest of the team nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Sanctuary, Leo temple **

Milo looked up from where he sat at Camus who had just arrived; they were celebrating read 'mocking' DeathMask for his new status as master. The Cancer saint had been too quiet, ignoring Milo's taunt at 'how mature he had become now that he could teach a kid' and Aiolia's snickering. Aphrodite was shaking his head as talking with Tenma about something, probably asking for an opinion about his latest rosy product. The Scorpio saint stopped trying to taunt DeathMask to see Camus looked more exhausted than ever, as if sky had crumbled and fell on his head.

"Camus? You know what? Big news! Our Masky get a disciple!" Milo cheered to his best friend.

The ice saint was not in mood for a joke, especially one about DeathMask. "Who in their right mind will let him teaching a child?" He asked coldly.

Milo knew Camus was irritated for some reason, but the news was a happy one that they had to share. "Here…" He shoved the profile paper to Camus, "What a cute child, right? His name is Mei!"

He blinked at the photo of dark haired child, obviously a Japanese thus one of 100 Kido's sons. "This is not a joke?"

"Of course not." Milo huffed.

Camus turned to Milo then to Aiolia, "Whatever… but DeathMask." He called and the Cancer saint rolled his eyes to him, "Are you sure? You don't have much patience to deal with children." The ice saint pointed out.

DeathMask huffed, agreeing wholeheartedly with Camus because its inevitability that Camus always right. "It's not like I have another choice! Thanks to Dante for being incompetent that I am the only one that left to train this child!" He paused then took a deep breath, "And also to certain Aries saint for being busybody that he had to unearth that Coma Berenices cloth out from Mount Etna!"

"!"

All eyes stared at DeathMask in disbelief; Shaka was the first to recover. "What did you say?!" He almost shouted worrying of what Mu was doing in Sicily.

The Cancer saint raised an eyebrow, "Eh? Oh… yeah I forgot reporting that…" He scratched the back of his head, "Damn Dante… why he didn't send a formal report instead of directly reporting it to me and never bother checking?" He wondered out loud.

Aphrodite groaned, "DeathMask! Don't blame Dante, it's you who forgot!" He huffed as crossing his arms, "So what is this about Mu and Coma Berenices cloth?"

"Ah…" He grumbled, "Half a year ago Mu came to Sicily, according to Dante he came because a cloth was calling him." The Italian saint explained, "We always know Coma Berenices cloth was down there…" He pointed down to the ground, tapping his foot. "Waiting for an owner, I thought the cloth was collecting dust on underground cave but turned out it was damaged so badly in gigantomachia so Mu had to use his psychokinesis to bring it to the surface and fix it."

Shaka and Camus understood the circumstances; Mu in the last few years had put an extra effort to revive cloth that perished in holy war. The Virgo saint sighed, there was no need to be freaked out that Mu trying to fish out information and getting himself in trouble. "Then?"

"It took months to fix it…" DeathMask rolled his eyes; "It never landed on Lemurian workshop so Mu had no guide of how to fix it, and he told Dante that the cloth is an extremely fine work and it's really tasking to fix it. Especially the…" He mumbled as trying to recall the report, "The hair?" He wondered out loud.

All eyebrows rose at that, "Hair?"

"Not really hair… this cloth just like its name have weapon on it…" He said as pointing at his left fingers, "Wires of orichalcum as fine as hair are installed on the finger parts… a very tricky parts that almost came off before fixed."

Aiolia stared at him, "Then why you only said that Berenice cloth was a weird cloth that have no owner and collecting dust in Sicily before if you know so much?" He asked incredulously.

"Nobody ask…" He sneered.

"…" Aphrodite sighed, "DeathMask… you really…"

The Sicilian huffed, "But I am not too happy at the prospect of teaching! Beside I doubt this kid is tough enough to endure my tortu… I mean training!" He corrected the last part hastily.

Camus shook his head, "The training even haven't started yet I already pity this child… he has Kido for a father and ended up with DeathMask as his master."

Aphrodite nodded in agreement, "His future prospect is really~ grim." He concluded wryly.

"Hey! It's not like I am happy with this either!" He growled angrily. "What's the fun of teaching this kid anyway?"

"You even haven't met him!" Aphrodite reminded. "And yet…"

"It's already looks suck just from his face!" DeathMask argued as he eyed the photo, "This kid looks like a goody two-shoes… I don't like this kind of brat." He scoffed, "And Dante is so stupid thinking that writing this child is smart, dedicated, polite and kind will appeal for gold saint to teach him! If this boy is that Shun brat's brother, they might as well become halo brothers with wings and all!" DeathMask roared, "Someone would be happier to take this Mei as their disciple! Maybe Shura! Or Aldebaran! But NOT me!" He ranted like a broken dam.

Tenma who had been silent since Camus came laughed out loud at the Cancer saint, "Ha ha ha Masky, if you don't like how Mei is now… why don't you try to corrupt him then? He will be a mini-you!" He suggested jokingly.

Silence…

DeathMask looked thoughtful for a moment, if he didn't like the brat why didn't he mold this Japanese brat to his liking? Even Aphrodite had his own mini-silver (Misty) so why wouldn't he? He grinned evilly at Tenma, "Good idea Tenma!"

Tenma beamed innocently, "Really?" Blissfully unaware of glares directed at him.

"It's too bad I didn't manage to corrupt you heh?" DeathMask sneered at him, "Well, I get my own brat to corrupt now!"

Tenma laughed, "Ha ha ha… corrupting me?" The Pegasus saint repeated, then waving his hand in dismissive gesture. "No way I am not that easy! And because Shura will kill you for that!" He reminded the Cancer saint, "But luckily you have Mei now right?"

"Yeah! Genius idea Myo hwa ha hA HA!" He laughed evilly as rubbed his palms together, "Well then! I am going back to my temple for preparing my visit to Sicily!" Then he raised his hand at the rest of the occupants of the room, grinning wide. "See you! I am going to fetch my disciple! I have a brat to corrupt!" DeathMask's laughter echoed in the air as he exited the room and ran back to his temple, happier than ever.

Tenma turned back; to find all of his brothers was glaring at him menacingly. He gulped, "Err…"

**"TENMA!"**

"Yes?" He blinked innocently.

**"YOU DID IT AGAIN!"** They yelled furiously in chorus.

He flinched, "What did I do?" Tenma moaned, wondering what upsetting them so.

Aphrodite groaned at the youngest saint, "Why you said that to him! Have you no pity to Mei?! He is Shun's older brother!"

The Pegasus saint raised an eyebrow, "So? Being DeathMask's disciple is not that bad… Dite, you know when Masky seems careless about other people, he cares a great deal for those he is close with."

Aphrodite groaned, "It's not about DeathMask will care or not about his new disciple! I know he will, but corrupting this child?!" Aphrodite huffed indignantly, "No way!"

"So?"

"Not So!"

Tenma shrugged, "Hello… we are talking about Masky, I said it out loud to him or not he will do it anyway…" That silenced them, especially they could see DeathMask indeed would try to corrupt Mei regardless someone suggested it beforehand or not to him. "And craziness prone to be infectious… at least Masky's one is." He shook his head, "I was trying to cheer Masky up about the prospect of teaching someone." A pause, "It's inevitable to happen anyway… so better let him happy earlier about it, right?"

"…"

"Right…" Aphrodite couldn't help but agree then he paused. "No! It's not right!"

Sometimes Tenma was frighteningly knowledgeable about them that it was not so funny and cute. They could only pray for Mei's soul, hoping the boy could come out sane from DeathMask's teaching. Sanctuary couldn't afford two DeathMasks. And somewhere in Sicily training ground Amamiya Mei aka Kido Mei shuddered when he was training. The future Coma Berinices saint had no idea what his future held, which already predicted by gold saints in sanctuary.

One word, insanity…

* * *

**Andromeda Island **

Shun was downhearted when he heard Daidalos would be away for a mission, so did the rest of his fellow Andromeda's trainees. Triangle Noesis and his disciple had came bearing the news of sanctuary alerted all saints to prepare themselves for mission, and almost all senior saints like Daidalos would be out for mission leaving saints with less experience or oldest trainee in charge of training. Andromeda's trainees were close in age thus they would be given a junior saint to continue their training, Shun was happy when he saw Tenma came to their island, grinning as announcing himself as their teacher for today.

Other trainees were happy to see Tenma because he was familiar with them and also…

"Tenma~ please… give us a more exciting training! I am bored of crushing rock!" Leda whined at the Pegasus saint who was supervising them in training of breaking atom with cosmos. They were standing in front of big flat rock that they used as table, it was big so they could use it together. And Tenma was sitting on it in lotus position. June in the other hand was working on more advanced training, because she had been trainee for two years when Leda and Spica had spent around one year and Shun only few months.

Because Tenma wasn't older than them and approachable, Leda and co weren't scared trying to convince the young saint to train them in something else, piling rocks and crushing it was boring and tire them so fast. "I wish I could… but Daidalos already wrote a timetable, so I can't do that…"

Spica moaned at that, "But we already did it!"

"That's not enough." Tenma pointed out, "You did use cosmos to crush it but… " He trailed off as looking at rocks they had crushed to debris, "What you have achieved can't be considered complete this training." Then he approached the tall rock that two times his size, his fist glowed in light blue color then demolished it to pieces then he picked a palm sized debris. "You are still using physical power when you crush the rock, this training is complete once you can do this." The debris on his hand was crushed but not to smaller pebbles but dust.

Leda's eyebrow twitched, "But that's…"

"You crush it as if it's tofu!" June exclaimed,

"In comparison… "Tenma trailed off tiredly, "Leda! Spica! You still use physical power, whether you notice it or not. June… " Tenma called the girl who was busy using a whip to crush a rock, the whip looked battered and looked like would snap anytime. "June, distribute the quantity of cosmos evenly… you are tearing your weapon!" Shun almost jumped when Tenma's eyes landed on him, "To be honest you are quite 'did it' but…" He rolled his eyes to tiny debris which were left over of rock Shun crushed, a very fine job in Tenma's book considering Shun just started his training. "Shun, when your friends have crushed ten palm sized rocks so far… you only managed three…"

"…"

"…"

"Shun… I did say for a start you could squeeze the rock…" The green haired boy blushed deep red, "But… ten minutes for each rock is a bit too much, you are wasting too much time to built your cosmos." Tenma muttered with a sigh. "Okay… all of you start crushing the rock with your fist!" Tenma ordered as motioned them to gather more rocks, "The theory is the same but this time did it once you manage to gather cosmos that big enough to crush it."

Leda and Spica looked at their rock, "Uhm…" In Andromeda Island, the rock was much harder than other training ground because their land is rich with metal substance.

Tenma rolled his eyes as he felt their hesitation, "Move it! If you broke your fingers, it's your fault! One or two bones will not going to stop you from completing this training, seriously! It's no big!"

"HEY!"

"I will heal it right away, so shut it Leda!" Tenma huffed, "At least you are not going to heal it yourself like I did when I was four!"

"Doesn't mean it's not going to hurt like hell!" Spica shouted in annoyed tone. "And I know mending broken bone with cosmos is hurt!" The blue haired boy was interested in healing skill so had picked up few theories Daidalos could teach him.

The Pegasus saint rolled his eyes again, "Hello… grow up! No pain no gain~ and if you don't shut up and work on it, you two will have meditation session instead of sparing after this." Tenma threatened which Leda and Spica responded with hasty nod, anything but meditation! "Good! And at night… after dinner, it would be history lesson." In which Shun was the only one who looked excited when the rest were groaning. "I know… it's suck." Tenma admitted with a nod, mythology was fun to learn but history of war was very depressing.

"Then WHY?!" Spica moaned.

"History for saints is compilation of _real _history, strategy, and moral lesson…" Tenma explained which from the look on their face was the same thing Daidalos had said, "We can't have saint who is blind of history, brawn without brain saint or… immoral saint." He shook his head, "Seriously! This is one of main reason why many trainees failed to achieve their sainthood to the point it's ridiculous and really frustrating!" And the fact some saints were blind about these also drive gold saints insane in daily basis. Living up to their name as warrior of hope that chosen by goddess of _wisdom_ was really not easy.

Jamian was the recent prime example, harpies surrounded him but in panic instead of teleporting somewhere safe was trying to flee with the help of his crows. In the process Jamian also lost two disciples of his, harpies devoured them. The crow saint barely managed to escape with his limbs intact. Milo was about to throw a fit at Jamian for losing his disciples and being incompetent in that mission. Fortunately Aphrodite told Milo to save it until Jamian was out of hospital.

"Anyway… continue, no complain…" Tenma narrowed his eyes and both Leda and Spica scampered away to pile rock for exercise. Then Tenma turned to Shun, "Ah… Shun, I learned Japanese a little in my spare time."

Shun beamed at that, "Really?"

"Yes…" He nodded, "No idea why but for some reason, I need to learn speaking Japanese fluently as soon as possible." He shrugged, "I am not complaining, beside… I stopped learning Latin and French for now so I could focus on Japanese." It was weird but Camus and Shaka insisted he had to learn Japanese when he was halfway in learning Latin and French, Tenma was more than happy to oblige.

"Oh…"

Tenma grinned then whispered, "Don't tell Daidalos or other kids, but I am planning to cut history lesson tonight short so you can help me with Japanese." He winked with a wide grin, and Shun cheered as he scampered to his fellow trainees.

* * *

**Elysion**

Phantasos munched on his biscuit, recalling what his conversation with Medea few hours ago. He asked Medea what she wanted from this chaos, not that he was really interested. Medea explained to him a bit too gleefully about what she wanted, though he could only get the gist Medea want an access to some awesome plane called…

"What people might want with the root?" Phantasos wondered out loud.

His fellow dream gods raised an eyebrow when his father and uncle sucked in their breath, their lips paused on their cup. Morpheus quirked an eyebrow at him, "Why… medicine? Food? Some plant's root can be used that way…"

The effeminate god shook his head, "No no no… I mean _The Root_ as in a plane of existence." Hypnos and Thanatos spit out their tea, thankfully all God of dreams were paying rapt attention to Phantasos so they didn't see it. "Some yada-yada place witches and wizards believe as their ultimate dream or what?" He shook his head, "I am God of dream and yet I don't get that dream of theirs…"

"Where did you hear that from?!" Phantasos jumped when he saw his father hovered before him with murderous eyes followed by his uncle. "Answer me!"

Phantasos thought he was about to be killed, his father was never this angry, not even when the previous Capricorn saint killed him temporarily. He stuttered in horror. "Medea! The niece… of Circe and… descendant of Helios, the… the… all knowing sun!"

The dream gods watched the twin blanched at the name, and their eyes were bloodshot. Then suddenly Hypnos turned to Morpheus, "Kill her." It was a simple order but Morpheus could feel the weight from his father's voice that was dripping with ice.

"As you wish milord." Morpheus said as he disappeared to the thin air.

Phantasos looked ready to broke down when Hypnos turned to his direction, "Next time… choose your toy carefully Phantasos, if this problem have become bigger than expected it would be your head I have to present to our lord."

"Yes milord!" He kneeled in fear, begging for forgiveness. "I will do anything to atone for this mistake!"

Gallery of sculpture in hell would be a title that fitting the scenery they saw in front of massive cave in the depth of Guang Yuan forest. Beautiful forest citizens of Guang Yuan hailed as sacred place where goddess of tree dwell had turned to a hellhole. A glimpse of gold peeked from behind a tree, and soon swallowed by the shadow.

Mu turned to the rest of the team, taking a deep breath. "This is a disaster…" He muttered grimly.

Daidalos gulped at the sight of stoned citizens, their stoned face were grim with horror. "Lord Mu… is there any chance they are still alive?" He asked hopefully, "Argol's shield of medusa… "He trailed off, "The victim according to record could return back if the shield broke or the owner of the cloth is dead."

The Aries saint understood why Daidalos asked; he was an expert of cloth after all. Mu shook his head regretfully, "No Daidalos… Perseus' shield does have the same ability, but that's nothing but mere imitation my ancestors recreate to be faithful to design of constellation." Then he turned to the row of petrified humans, standing still as if time had frozen. "But this… probably a work of mystical creature, and even I didn't feel even a speck of cosmos left on the victims."

Retsu's lips quivered, tears almost pooled on his eyes but he wiped it hastily. "How terrible! How could The Witch did this to innocents?"

Noesis put his hand on Retsu's shoulder to comfort his disciple, unaware of Mu's emerald eyes that looking at them with sad nostalgia. "Retsu… brace yourself, we are here to stop this. We will end this…" He reminded his disciple, to be honest Noesis didn't want this kind of mission to be the first one Retsu had. But circumstance called and they never could choose who need their help as a saint.

"Yes Master…" The Lynx saint said as straightened his back.

Daidalos nodded at then turned to Mu who automatically had become their team leader, replacing the Cepheus saint due to his rank. "Lord Mu… this creature, is it…" Daidalos trailed off knowing the answer though deep down hoped he was mistaken.

Mu nodded, "Yes… only one creature is capable of this…" He began, and sound of slithering body suddenly broke the silence and all saints were on their guard. "The very same creature, one that defeated by Perseus in the age of myth." Mu continues as if blissfully unaware of menacing hissing that echoed from the depth of cave, louder and louder by each passing second. "_Gorgos…_terrible, the very personification of this word. Gorgon… sister of Medusa was sleeping in the depth of this forest and have been awaken from her deep slumber."

* * *

"Tenma… " The said Pegasus saint rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation, he prided himself for putting up with his brother's antic in daily basis however he was but a human. "I am worried about master Daidalos."

Shun had been repeating this sentences for the past few hours and nothing Tenma said ceased Shun's worry. "I am sorry if I am annoying but it's just…"

"You are thinking too much." Tenma said with a huff, "Daidalos is a competent silver saint and he is in a team mission. It's not like he is doing this alone."

The worry was understandable though, since this was the first time Daidalos left the island for a probably long period. He was a master thus rarely called for mission but at the emergency time like this he had to be on the frontline. As a senior he should assure them Daidalos would return safely, or something along that line.

"But I am just… have this…" That illegal puppy look again, they might as well turned it to a weapon and who knows it would be effective against specter. "Bad feeling and it won't go away."

Tenma sighed exasperatedly, "That's why I said…"

"KYAAAAAA!"

Tenma and Shun jumped in fright when they heard the scream that belonged to June and sprinted to the source as fast as they could. Tenma cursed as he felt dark cosmos looking ahead, how the hell such a rotten cosmos could pass his detection? He had let them went to fetch water in nearby spring; still within their camp area thus it should be safe. He had let his guard down and that was inexcuseable!

The sight that greeted them made Tenma pale and Shun trembled in fear and shock. Part of the island was shrouded in darkness and littered with living skeletons with the skull of bull and holding dagger made of bones. Tenma and Shun gasped when they saw three of the skeleton monsters were holding Leda, Jun and Spica and the sharp blade was pointed at their throat.

"Let them go!" Tenma yelled but stopped when he saw them didn't move at all, it was if they didn't hear him. It was not rare for saints to face non-human foot soldier, however even low intelligence creature would react if someone was yelling at them unless…

Shun gripped the chain he had on his hand, ready to fight the scary monsters before him but Tenma stopped him. "Tenma?" He muttered as looked back and forth from the hand that blocked his path and the saint's face.

"Don't Shun… these monsters are just puppet." Tenma said as his eyes narrowed at the enemy. "June! Leda! Spica! Don't move! They are puppets! They have no will on their own and only act on their master's command! Don't do anything stupid and wait!"

The trainees gulped as they struggled to not look back, but it was hard to ignore the cold and hard bone that pressed against their body. They could only nod slowly at Tenma's order. Tenma gritted his teeth as seconds passed. They were outnumbered but it wasn't really a concern since they were definitely week, however he definitely won't act rashly with them holding hostages. But still… why did they just caught those three hostage and having a staring showdown with him? What the master wanted?

He took a deep breath, "Wherever you are! Come out and tell me what you want!" He yelled as loud as he could. "You can't just have your goons holding three trainees without a consequences you know! You are going to answer to me! Pegasus Tenma before Athena punished you!"

Okay… that was a bit childish and lame but hopefully with egging the master, it would make the culprit come out and underestimating him too. But hey, kid should get every advantage they could in battlefield.

"Tenma…" Shun called him in a whisper, "That's… sounds childish…" He whispered shyly, no doubt the Andromeda trainee was embarrassed to hear his boasting.

Tenma rolled his eyes, "I know…" And judging from scandalized face on the hostage trio, they were thinking the same. "That's not the concern here you know?" But at least they were not panicking anymore. Kids had the strangest mind ever like Shaka said in regards to him.

"My… my… what a child." A woman shrouded in darkness stepped out from the shadow, she was clothed in purple garment and hood that hid most of her face. Everything about her was screaming 'A WITCH' and Tenma couldn't help but wondered what this menace wanted from this island or them.

"What do you want?" Tenma asked in the calm voice he could muster. In front of your enemies never show anything but calmness, never ever let them to think you are in disadvantaging position, said Camus years ago to him. "I doubt you come here just to abduct children, if you are the culprit of recent incidents I doubt you want anything from them… but from me I guess?"

Medea's Lair

Morpheus scowled as he ransacked the atelier of Medea, the witch could be hiding somewhere in this lair! Whatever this witch had done, it was enough to bring wrath of twin Gods upon her who was a demi-god and for that he shall destroyed this place. For a magic user the most important place was their atelier and knowledge within, and even if she had fled Morpheus at least would destroy her atelier.

Her life would soon be taken too.

"I want you… both of you…" She cooed in almost childish voice.

Shun and Tenma tensed, but Tenma quickly schooled his face back to stoic and stepped forward as if his small body could hide Shun from the witch. "That's sounds very criminal, I never know the fairytale of witch kidnapping children have some truth in them."

Medea titled her head to the side, "Aren't you so cute Pegasus?" She licked her lips and Tenma suppressed an urge to step backward, that gesture couldn't be anything but good for sure!

He was about to open his mouth to response but he stopped when a loud yell coming from the almost forgotten hostages. Unexpectedly June, Leda and Spica smashed the skeleton soldiers with their fist, and the pawn crumbled to dust. It seemed he overestimated the skeletons and underestimated the trio, Tenma thought gleefully.

"Get your hands off of them! Pedophile!" June growled as she unleashed her whip.

"Yeah! Don't you dare to touch Tenma and Shun!" Leda and Spica shouted as they too holding their chains, and prepared to attack the witch.

Tenma's eyes widened in shock, why did they do such a reckless stunt?! Can't they see this witch was about to let her guard down, knowing she had advantage over them?!

"Idiot…" He hissed, their concern was touching though. His eyes widened when he saw Medea took out a pouch made of leather; the worse thing an opponent would do when situation turned against them was trying to turn it over again!

"RUN!"

The warning was too late as he pounced on the witch but whatever content she had on the pouch was already thrown to the islander's direction, spreading sickly hue of red fog upon them and at once they fell on their knees. Tenma gritted his teeth as his small body pinned hers with greater force one could imagine in that small body. The force when he knocked her down was enough to unveil her hood, revealing a woman with pale skin, lilac hair with eyes in deeper shade. She was beautiful but in the same time Tenma could tell it was just the outside and inside was as vile as poison.

"June! Spica! Leda!" Shun shouted in horror as ran to their direction.

The Pegasus saint however stopped him from going to their friends, "Don't go to them unprotected! Cloak your body with cosmos and drag them out of there!"

Shun nodded then quickly cloaked his body with cosmos, "Hai!"

Tenma hissed threateningly, "Whatever you did, undo it at once… witch!" From the corner of his eyes he could see Shun dragged three unmoving body out of the fog.

"Or what?" She retorted, "You'll kill me?" Medea laughed softly as her hands gently placed upon Tenma's, which was holding her throat.

He tensed but Tenma did nothing to stop the witch because he knew one wrong move he'll end up killing the witch. She was well aware Tenma needed her alive to cure her victim and for that…

"I will undo the vile poison I unleashed on them…" Tenma shivered when he felt the tips of her cold finger traced his arm, it felt disgusting! Her body was so cold and if not for the pulse he felt on his hands he would think this woman was an undead. "In exchange… both of you shall come with me."

Tenma gripped her throat harder and she flinched as her hand lost hold of Tenma's, "I can't accept such condition… never mind me but Shun is my responsibility and I can't allow him to be in any danger."

"Like you have any choice?" She wondered demurely, "If not it would be those three who suffered, they would die in less than an hour without the antidote…"

The Pegasus saint smirked at that, "And what stopped me from purifying the poison with my cosmos or try to find the antidote from your body after I killed you?"

Medea smirked, "Do I look foolish enough to use a poison that could be purified by cosmos? Or if you even know where I keep the antidote with me or which is the correct one?" She pointed out with a gleam on her eyes.

"You know your trick…" Tenma admitted with a hiss, "What do you want from us? I may be a saint but I can't think any reason for a witch to come after me and a trainee like Shun."

She cooed, "How cute you even never aware of who you are Pegasus… but it's fine so what's your answer to my invitation?"

Tenma narrowed his eyes, "It's still a NO unless you can guarantee you won't fool me and give them the correct antidote…" He was not amused, to think he had to give in to this witch… "I think we are in stalemate now since I can just snap your neck and bring them to physician of sanctuary. It's a gamble but better than losing battle I'll have here…"

"There is no telling how much time they need to figure out the antidote" Medea said hoarsely. "So how if both of us take an Absolute Troth?"

Tenma's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth in anger. It was an old costume back in the age of myth, it was simple oath that once take shouldn't be broken at all cost but the costume had been lost since magic was needed. Cosmos was alike with magic but it couldn't do what magic could while it had more raw power than magic. Once the troth taken you wouldn't be able to broke it and if you did it was not just your life but your soul would be ripped apart and lost. Myth still surrounded the oath as cloak of mystery; Medea was still in advantage since she knew more about how this work unlike him.

"Very well… however since you know how the Absolute Troth work better than me it's just fair if I decide the Troth. State your wish and I'll phrase it."

"Very well…" Medea said as he felt Tenma's hold loosed but still tight enough for her to not break free. "I want both Pegasus Tenma and Amamiya Shun to come with me, and you… especially you… to not harm me in duration of your stay with me."

"You also have to promise not to harm Shun." Tenma added with a hiss.

"I will not harm any of you." She promised and for some reason she sounded sincere.

Tenma sighed at that, "Very well… I, Pegasus Tenma and Trainee Amamiya Shun will be coming with you. Pegasus Tenma is forbidden from harming… "

"I am Medea… "

The Pegasus's eyes widened, Medea… the descendant of Helios and niece of Circe known as the witch of betrayal. What the hell this demigod would want from him and Shun?

"Forbidden from harming Medea the witch… and neither she could harm Pegasus Tenma or Amamiya Shun." Tenma continued, "As long as Medea hand over the antidote of poison that plaguing his comrades." He took a deep breath, "That's good enough to you?"

Medea nodded in satisfaction, "Yes… just repeat it once again and let…" Medea once again grabbed hold of his arm and her nails dug into the skin and drawing blood. Tenma didn't wince, as he felt foreign cosmos or was it magic? It was trying to intrude his body; he tensed a little but let her knowing this was one of the procedure and magic tended to involve blood. He repeated the oath, eyes never left the witch as she finished to chant the spell and bide them in the said oath.

As he watched her lift her hand off of his bloodied one, he stood up then went to Shun. This was not a good situation but he would get them out of this, whatever the witch wanted from even if not harming them couldn't be good. What he would do next might be not saint like but as Aphrodite said, be flexible when you needed it.

"Shun… we need to talk."

Noesis and the rest of them couldn't think but sweating at the image of monster on the cave. Gorgon was a terrible creature that only three of them ever walked on the earth. They were confident they could take on this creature especially with a gold saint with them, but the problem was they couldn't and should not look at the face of this creature. There were so few things cloth couldn't protect saint from and Gorgon's eyes were one of it.

The Triangle saint smirked nervously, "We can't look at its face then…"

Mu shook his head, "Except from reflection… but we have two choices." He pointed out as turned to them, holding two fingers. "First, we draw the gorgon out of the cave… it will give us bigger space to fight it. But in the same time we run a risk of looking at gorgon's face." He paused, "And the other is invading her cave… it's pretty dark so we will not be able to see her face, but the terrain is unknown and we have to rely on cosmos to track each other." Another pause, "Unless… How good you are in using cosmos as replacement for sight?"

This skill was high-level cosmos mastery, in which you shut down your sight and relied on other four senses to give picture in your mind. Mu knew Shaka did this all the time, and no one would be able to match Shaka who even could read without his eyes. Sight was the sense that dominated around 80% of human's senses, which was why it was not easy to willingly shut it down for a long period.

Retsu fidgeted nervously, "Nonexistence…" He muttered as blushing a deep red.

Noesis smiled at his disciple, it was no surprise since it was rare even for a silver to develop this skill. "I… used it a couple of times, but not too good."

Daidalos suppressed an urge to say so-so when it was a fact of how good he was in this skill, "Decent enough Milord…"

Okay that's not really promising for them to fight in the dark and risked attacking someone they didn't want to in a place as narrow as a cave ahead of them. So they better fought in the open, and devised better plan to deal with the petrifaction of Gorgon. "Okay… which mean we better fight in the outside…" Mu concluded which the Aries saint could see from the corner of his eyes responded with a sigh of relief by Retsu. He must be not comfortable at the prospect of being a hindrance in his first mission because of lack of skill. "First of all we have to deal with her face first… this place is not too far from town so leading it to a goose chase is not an option, especially because we didn't know the terrain of this forest well."

Daidalos and Noesis nodded, as expected of a gold saint to be a visionary person. They knew Mu was not a frontline fighter due to his irreplaceable position as blacksmith but Mu didn't neglect his leadership skill, "Yes, milord…" Then Daidalos turned to Noesis, "Both of us have skill to restrain enemies… and Retsu is very agile."

Retsu beamed, "Yes, leave it to me… Lord Mu."

Mu smiled at them, "Well then… " He cleared his throat, "Daidalos, Noesis… restrain this creature once it's out of the cave, and Retsu… attack with everything you have and aim for vital area." He paused, "And I will be the one who will be the bait."

Their eyes widened in shock, "But Lord Mu! You shouldn't!" Noesis argued, "Daidalos alone is enough to restrain it, let me be the bait to lead this creature out!"

The Aries saint refused, "No! We need all help we could get to restrain it." He stated sternly, "Daidalos would be the one who bind the eyes with his chain, but the snake-like body is not enough to be restrained by Cepheus' chain alone so we need you too Noesis." Then his eyes turned to the youngest saint, "How good you can hold this creature down is essential, slightest mistake and this creature manage to break free…" His eyes rolled to the youngest saint and Noesis clamped his mouth shut, as he understood it would be Retsu who in danger if that happened.

They nodded, "Then it's settled…" Mu concluded in serious tone, "I will go first… Get ready in your position once I am out of your sight." The Aries saint ordered then slipped past them then stepped in a flash through the row of statues and disappeared on the darkness of Gorgon's cave.

Medea was once called the witch of betrayal, one would say that because she betrayed her family and country for a man. Considering the circumstance whereas Aphrodite involved in the said betrayal, no one could really say it was a complete betrayal in Medea's part. The reason was her devotion for her husband, which went too deep to a horrifying degree, it backfired on her, when her husband and father of her children betrayed her for another woman and status.

The witch of course didn't take well to be betrayed by husband she had sacrificed so many things for, and went to mad rampage. On the mythology it was told Medea was never one to do things halfheartedly especially when it involved homicide. Medea killed the princess of Corinth with her wedding dress, which also killed the King. Her children with Jason weren't spared either; she killed them beforehand and fled with their body.

In short she was a psycho with revenge streak…

There was no telling what she wanted from them, extracting revenge to Athena maybe? Her second husband that deserted her was the King of Athens after all… but that guy was dead in a horrible misunderstanding, Tenma recalled, so it couldn't be because of that…

At least she fulfilled her job to cure June, Leda and Spica so they were no longer in danger. He was not pleased she suddenly snatched both him and Shun away and teleported, leaving their friends screaming for them as the witch took them away.

Everything went according to her plan, or so she thought when in last second Shun suddenly burned his cosmos as much as he could and disrupted the flow of teleportation. Medea screamed in agony as the cosmos was burning her arm and she lost hold of both of them. Tenma was ready to grab Shun and teleported them out of the rift between dimension however, even the best plan could fail in execution.

Tenma's eyes widened when he saw the rift became violent and separated them and Medea apart and if not for his quick reflex to hold Shun's arm he would've lost the future Andromeda saint too. Tenma could tell Shun was scared but he still did what Tenma asked, it was a gamble but they had to take it. Shun was never asked to not harm Medea, knowing the boy's pacifist nature and Tenma wouldn't force Shun to do that either. However Tenma just wanted Shun to disrupt the teleportation, the harm that came to Medea was merely a side effect and not intentional.

"Tenma… where are we?" Shun asked in panic as he looked around at the static space.

Tenma suppressed a groan, "Rift between dimension." Great, the plan suppose to have Medea teleported alone after Shun disrupt her spell but who knows they would end up here? He was no good in teleportation and now they were stuck in here of all places?

"I will teleported us out of here, so no worries." He just had no idea where they'll end up. He should try to sense familiar cosmos of his comrade to use as beacon then teleported there, the problem was who and could he pull it off. "Wait a sec Shun, let me concentrate."

The twelve temples for some reason felt so far to his senses so his brothers would be out of option to be used as beacon. He needed someone close with high enough cosmos to use as beacon, but it also had to be familiar to increase the success rate. There was one felt familiar but it was dormant as if this person let his cosmos to be in deep slumber, no… no one could tell what would happen if he used dormant cosmos as beacon. Tenma tried to search a bit further and found one, no… two and three! One of it was Daidalos another… one... Noesis! Bingo! Wait… whose was the largest? A gold saint at least?

Could it be? They are on mission? Oh shit! He shouldn't pop up there!

"Tenma!" Shun's yelp snapped Tenma out of his thought and he couldn't blame Shun since the rift grew more violent and they'd be in danger here. Staying any longer would risk them to be torn apart!

"Che!" He grunted, "Okay! It's emergency, so who cares!" Hopefully no one there would mind the abrupt emergency landing.

"Nebula Chain!" The Cepheus saint shouted as the chain moved to bind the eyes of gorgon tighter while Noesis used his Tritos Spharagisma on its serpent body.

Both silver saints gasped as the felt monstrous power of Gorgon tried to resist their technique, "What power…" At this rate forget binding this monster for a long period, Noesis doubted his Tritos Spharagisma could last more than five minutes.

"Stardust Revolution!" Mu shouted as he executed his offensive move, one that landed perfectly on its vital area it seemed since the serpent considerably weakened and howled in pain. Ritsu moved to land the finishing blow, but before his fist could be connected to the gaping wound Mu's attack left the serpent let out a high pitched cry that sent painful wave through their eardrums.

Mu and the silver saints quickly raised a barrier to protect themselves but the damage had been inflicted. Daidalos had been fortunate his chain had its own will this it stayed in place even though its owner lost concentration, Noesis had no such luxury as his technique came undone. The one who received the worse was Retsu, the Bronze saint's ears were bleeding and holding it in pain.

Noesis paled at the sight, "RETSU!"

Mu moved to save the bronze saint when he saw the Gorgon started trashing its serpentine body around to break free of Daidalos chain. At this rate the Gorgon's gigantic scaly body would crush Retsu.

"LOOK OUT!"

Mu instinctively looked up where he heard the voice came from and the next thing he knew something fell or rather crashed on the Gorgon's head and killed it in the process. The Aries saint had no idea what crashed on it, but it looked like a small meteor enveloped in cosmos. Mu quickly turned his attention to Retsu who had sat up and holding his bleeding ears, it seemed other than a number of bruises and shattered eardrums the Bronze saint was mostly fine. Noesis rushed to his disciple's side and tried to talk with the boy, which of course was unheard by the boy because of his shattered eardrums.

The boy looked upset and confused but perked up instantly when he picked up telepathy message from his master. It seemed they would be okay, Mu felt a wave of nostalgia watching the master and disciple.

"Lord Mu… I need to get my disciple to a healer." Noesis said.

Mu nodded, "Very well… "And with that Noesis teleported from the scene.

"What the… " Mu heard Daidalos' panicked voice, "Shun! Tenma!"

There was a groan of pain and Mu quickly rushed to Daidalos and found the silver saint in company of two young boys, one with green hair was unconscious. His eyes widened when he saw the other boy had a pure white cloth, a bronze saint! Mu didn't know why but he instinctively placed himself in the young saint's blind spot. It was a petty attempt to hide himself but he had a feeling he shouldn't draw the boy's attention now.

"Tenma, what are you doing here?" Daidalos asked with concerned voice as he cradled his disciple on his arms.

The boy whose name was revealed as Tenma rubbed the back of his head, "I used your cosmos as the beacon to get myself and Shun out of dimension rift." Daidalos opened his mouth but Tenma cut him off, "As for why I and Shun ended up there… it's not voluntary. Have you heard about the culprit of recent attack by mystical beast is probably a witch?" Daidalos nodded. "Not a probably anymore… that witch came uninvited to Andromeda Island."

"WHAT?! Then, what happened to my disciples?" Daidalos asked in panic.

"They're fine… that witch didn't harm them in exchange of me and Shun agreed to go with her." He assured the older saint.

Daidalos blanched. "And you agreed?!" He asked incredulously.

"I will explain the detail later okay?!" Tenma almost snapped, "The good news is… I tricked her, and if we're lucky she would never get out of that dimension rift …"

Daidalos sighed in relieve, "But what he wanted from you and Shun? If only you I can understand…" After all Tenma was a future gold saint, he was young and inexperienced thus a likely target but Shun?

Tenma shrugged, "Who knows? Apparently this witch's real identity is Medea of Colchis." Mu and other higher ranked saint gasped at the famed witch of betrayal. "She introduced herself as such and as we all know…" Tenma flinched when as he recalled the recent unpleasant memory in company of the witch of betrayal. "Medea is not the sanest figure known from mythology… " She was living incarnate of woman scorned. "I can't imagine what she would have wanted from me and Shun."

Daidalos sighed then he stood up, Shun shifted in his sleep but the young boy seemed content on comfort of his master's arms. "Nevertheless… both of you are safe… " Then he flinched, "Lord Shaka and other gold saints would be displeased with me though, you're suppose to be safe in my island…"

Tenma rolled his eyes, "They should know… trying to keep me safe is bound to fail, I am a trouble magnet after all…" Tenma waved his arm in negative gesture, "No need to be worried about me not safe in your island as they hoped. I am a saint after all… I would be a sorry excuse of future gold saint if they have to fret over my safety all the time… " Daidalos disagreed, because in short time he knew the Pegasus saint, the young boy had gotten himself into trouble more often than not. It was no wonder his brother in arms were worried about the boy.

"Well said… " Mu couldn't help but said in response.

Tenma turned his attention to the source of the voice and blinked owlishly, "Ah… you're… "

Daidalos couldn't help but noticed from there was unfamiliarity on Tenma's eyes, the bronze saint was looking at Mu as if he was a stranger. "Tenma… ?"

"I am Mu… the Aries saint." Mu introduced himself. "Nice to meet you."

"… " Tenma frowned and Daidalos tensed at the sight. Unexpectedly Tenma suddenly smiled at Mu, "Nice to meet you too!" Mu was caught off guard when Tenma suddenly took hold of his right hand and shook it with vigor. "Let's talk over there for a bit!" Mu made no effort to resist as he let the younger saint dragged him to the forest, leaving the dumbfounded Daidalos in the clearing.

* * *

**Sanctuary, Temple of Virgo**

"Tenma? In China?!" Aphrodite almost yelled at the news he heard from Camus who was examining injured disciple of Noesis through telepathy, "There's a reason we tried to get him as far as possible from there!" By right Central and North part of Asia was off limits for Tenma since he risked running to Dohko or Mu.

Shaka rubbed his temple, "Don't yell Aphrodite." The blond saint chided the older gold saint, "I will pick him up now and make sure to get him out of whatever mess he got himself into." It's not like there was a big chance for Tenma to run to either Mu or Dohko.

The Pisces saint scoffed, "Make sure you do... Shaka, God knows what Tenma got himself into in the past when he accidentally teleported himself… I don't want a repeat of fiasco with komodo and that archipelago."

The Indian flinched at that, "Ah… " That was not even the most pleasant example of escapade Tenma had gotten himself into in the past.

_"Shaka… Aphrodite… " _Camus called them through telepathy. _"Apparently Noesis group ran to Mu and he offered his assistance. We should know... Tenma is just that much of trouble magnet. _He added with a sigh.

Shaka blanched, "I am going now!" This was not the right time yet, if whereabouts of Tenma made known to Mu and automatically Dohko... The Libra saint won't hesitate to swoop down the sanctuary in fear the fake pope was trying to control Pegasus saint. That would be a civil war in their hands, the last thing they wanted to happen.

* * *

Mu stared at Tenma and the Pegasus saint returned the stare with equal intensity. The Aries saint wondered if this boy was really the one Soma was talking about. He was already a saint and Mu could tell the boy was strong, not as strong as a gold saint but one that almost touched the tip the seventh sense. It was not much stretch of imagination the fake Pope wanted to mold an obedient Sagitarius saint from young age.

"You're the one who fix cloth if they're damaged?" Tenma began cheerfully.

Mu looked at the younger saint, he looked so innocent and behaved much like a child his age. "Yes… I am." So unlike he and other gold saint when they were as young as the boy. "I've heard of you from Soma... I believe I've never meet you before..."

Tenma raised an eyebrow at the Aries saint, wondering how he could have met Shaka's servant. "We would have if you go home to 12 temples once in a while…" He pointed out with a grin.

Mu inwardly cringed, "Maybe… but nevertheless it's been a while since I heard anything from Sanctuary."

The Pegasus saint blinked owlishly, "Eh… why?" That's weird, he heard Aldebaran visited Mu quite often.

The Aries saint looked at Tenma calmly but inside he was raging storm, there were so much question to ask and he didn't know where to begin with. And so he started with one question that had plaguing his mind. "Who are you?"

* * *

**Long time no update but at least I did at last... Please support this story even if I won't update as often. ^^ Hopefully next update would be faster. One more chap and we will start from canon timeline Galaxy war XDDD YAY! **


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